Fulfilment theology begins with a simple belief that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke absolute truth.
His Olivet prophecy concerning the
days of vengeance on the generation that rejected him & the
prophets, and wise men, and scribes he would send concluded with the words:
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
And the generation that sees the beginning of "these things" will see'em all.[/B]
The question is simple - do we believe the Lord Jesus or do we reject his inspired words because robycop3 says what Jesus said would happen didn't happen.
Can YOU prove they've already happened? OF COURSE NOT! The world has gone RIGHT ON, UNCHANGED since 70 AD
Don't argue about "
this generation" until you've read Matthew 23 which includes the denunciation:
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Those events were the "DAYS OF VENGEANCE" Jesus prophesied. The Roman invasion & the events accompanying it were the fulfillment of those "days". That was NOT the eschatological events Jesus later prophesied in the Olivet Discourse.
I think you are saying that such events are signs of the return of Jesus, but Jesus said there would be no such warnings -
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Do we believe the words of our Lord Jesus - or was he mistaken, or misleading us?
I am NOT mistaken. The events Jesus prophesied that HAVE already cometa pass have done so LITERALLY, TO THE LETTER, with no mistaking them for anything else.
Jerusalem and the temple were LITERALLY destroyed, with not one stone remaining atop another of the temple, jest as jesus said. (The Wailing Wall is part of the wall that was built around the temple complex, not part of the temple itself.)
Jesus prophesied war/rumor of war. Was/is there war/rumor of war in the past and today?
Jesus prophesied Christians would be persecuted, with decapitations. Has ISIS & Al-Qaeda, among others, fulfilled this lately, not to mention those of the past?
Jesus prophesied Jerusalem would be trod underfoot til the time of the gentiles was up. Is this still going on? How about the constant stream of Muslims going to & from Al-Aqsa Mosque & the Dome of the Rock? How about the steady parade of non-Jewish Christians going to & from the Christian shrines within the city? Evidently, the time of the gentiles is still ongoing, as proven by empirical evidence.
Now, has there been a great, godless world ruler with a miracle-working false prophet as a deputy? If so, NAME THEM!
Have they issued the marka the beast? if so, describe it. Can you still buy & sell as you wish, using cash or a mac card?
Has the worst tribulation in history hit earth yet, with all life in the seas dying, all green grass burned up, and a rain of rocks falling?
Most-importantly of all, HAS JESUS RETURNED, IN GREAT POWER & GLORY, SEEN BY ALL, AS HE HIMSELF SAID HE WOULD?
No, JESUS' PROPHECIES WERE & ARE SPOT ON. What's SPOT-OFF are man's private interpretations of those that haven't yet been fulfilled, especially the timing of when they'll occur.
I believe history and reality have completely disproved the man-made notion that all or most of Jesus' Olivet Discourse eschatological prophecies, and the accompanying prophecies of Daniel, Zechariah, the Revelation, etc. have NOT yet been fulfilled, and that preterism, full or partial, is completely-FALSE. I believe certain people here oughtta get rid of all their works by Alcazar, Gentry, Preston, Sproul, etc. & focus on their BIBLES, along with some reference boox of world history, to free themselves of this man-made false doctrine.
Remember Alcazar's purpose in writing about it - he was seeking to keep the line of popes being labeled the antichrist, which, of course, is another false doctrine itself. He was trying to counter false with false. (I reckon "Two wrongs don't make a right" had no meaning to him.)