Preterists argue that Matthew 16:27-28, Acts 1:11, and Revelation 1:7 were fulfilled between A.D. 66 and 70. They argue that the second coming of Jesus, the resurrection, and the judgment all took place by A.D. 70. Let us grant them their arguments. If what they say is true...
Then why is the human race still here?!?!?
According to the Bible, when Jesus returns, He will judge both the living and the dead. According to the Bible, when Jesus returns, the wicked will be resurrected to eternal punishment and the righteous resurrected to eternal life. According to the Bible, when Jesus returns, sin and death will be defeated. Just for a moment, look around you at the state of the world. None of that has ever taken place! Otherwise, why are we still here?!?!? Once Jesus returns, that is it for sinful humanity. Sin is judged, men are transformed into their glorious bodies, and the age to come is ushered in. The age to come is eternity, with perfect righteousness and no more sin and death. Has that happened??? No, quite clearly it has not. So... how do Preterists explain this colossal problem with their interpretation of Scripture?
That is their biggest problem to overcome. But it is not their only problem. Jesus' words spoken in Revelation 3:7-13 were not fulfilled until between A.D. 98 to 117:
“This promise was literally and verbatim fulfilled. Philadelphia was the only church in the seven which escaped unscathed from the persecutions of Trajan; and the reason which philosophers assigned and historians have stated is, that Philadelphia was subject to earthquakes; and the Roman emperor, with all his sanguinary cruelty, was afraid to go there himself, or to trust his generals and his armies in a place so dangerous. No doubt this was the secondary cause, which many modern philosophers worship; but the secret of Philadelphia’s safety was the first great and glorious reason that Christians trust in – that Jesus had recorded it as his truth. ‘I will keep thee from the hour of temptation, that shall come upon all the world.’ ” –John Cumming, Apocalyptic Sketches, 436-437.
“I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world; for this faithfulness God promises to keep the ministers of this church from those persecutions which raged elsewhere, and were further, in Trajan’s time, to come upon all Christians living under the Roman Empire. To try them that dwell upon the earth; to try those Christians that lived within that empire, how well they would adhere to Christ, and the profession of the gospel. This I take to be a more proper sense, than theirs who would interpret this hour of temptation of the day of judgment, which is never so called.” –Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, 3:958.
There is no doubt that certain details of Scripture were fulfilled in or by A.D. 70. Because of this, every Christian is, or should be, a partial Preterist. But the idea that all of Scripture was written before A.D. 70 and that all New Testament prophecy was fulfilled between A.D. 66 and 70 is absolutely ridiculous! The above is just one example where that theory is proven utterly false. If Jesus has already returned, and the resurrection and judgment have already taken place, then why are we still here? Why does sin still exist and why is it so rampant? Why does death still reign? These are all promises to be overcome by the Second Coming of Jesus. I welcome any Preterist reading this to explain their position and answer these issues.
Yes, A.D. 70 was a judgment—the judgment upon the nation of Israel, but it was not the judgment; i.e., the Great White Throne judgment. Second Peter 3:10 clearly says that "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." That quite clearly has not happened yet. It almost seems like Preterists advocate three comings of Christ the same way that Futurists do. There was a non-literal coming in A.D. 64 (apparently), and there will be yet another coming where the rest of the promises of the New Testament are fulfilled (sin and death defeated).
The idea that a literal "Rapture" or "partial Rapture" took place in A.D. 70 is also laughable. There was not, is not, and will not be a "Rapture"!!! No such teaching exists in the New Testament! Not a future "Rapture," and certainly not a past "Rapture." What the Bible does teach is the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah as King and Conqueror. If this already took place by A.D. 70, then perhaps Preterists would like to explain this to Jesus, because He clearly forgot some steps. All the dead in Christ have not been resurrected, and we who remain have not gone to be with Him. Sin and death certainly have not been judged and cast into the Lake of Fire.
Supposedly, a literal "Rapture" took place between A.D. 66 and 70. If this were true, where are the second-century Christians writing about it? Suddenly their mentors and teachers have vanished? Oh, wait, all true Christians would have been "raptured." So... where are the historical evidences talking about masses of people suddenly vanishing? The same problem that persists with the Futurists also persists for the full Preterist who believes this nonsense. How are people preaching the Gospel and being saved if all true believers were "raptured"? The Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit will be removed. Thus, there is no influence of the Spirit and no leading of the Spirit. Again, why are we still here?!?!?
If all this took place by A.D. 70, no one could possibly be saved, even if they randomly picked up a copy of the Bible and started reading it (which did not exist as a whole at that point in time, and if everything in Scripture were fulfilled by A.D. 70, no one would dare assemble a complete Bible because there would be no influence of the Spirit and no believers). That means that no one alive today, or for the past nearly 2,000 years, is a Christian or has been saved. It would be impossible.
If Scripture passages applied to A.D. 70 are in reference to the judgment of the nation of Israel, then, yes, they would find their fulfillment there. However, if the passages are in reference to the judgment of the whole world and dealing with the whole world, then they quite obviously did not find their fulfillment in A.D. 70 because such a theory would contradict our current existence. Unless we are living in Hell and our experience of the Gospel is nothing but a farce, which would make God not God at all, but a cosmic child toying with people and giving them a false hope. "Here's My Word. All you have to do is believe it and you can be saved. Psyche! This was already fulfilled in A.D. 70! Ha ha ha ha!"
Matthew 25 has yet to happen. The division of the sheep and the goats, which every parable of Matthew 13 has to do with: the end of the age. This happens at the Second Coming of Jesus. Again, if any Preterist reading this wants to attempt to defend his view and explain how we are still here today, living in sin and dying because of sin, I look forward to reading your explanation. Full Preterism makes as much sense as Dispensational Futurism. Zero!