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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Aug. 7, 1999
Update	: Jul. 9, 2025
Parts	: 02

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part one, in a similar manner, in Matthew chapter twenty-four, Jesus has likewise laid out a prophetic roadmap of the future. This He did, not so that His followers could just avoid something, but rather so that they could make sure that they were really watching and ready for His Return. I believe that this is the key to determining how we can sort out all of the modern doctrinal confusion which revolves around Jesus' Return. In other words, I'm referring to the ongoing debate between Preterists and Futurists, and between those folks who claim that Jesus can come any minute, and those who insist that a certain list of events need to occur first.

Now, according to Futurist thinking, given how much time has transpired since the Lord spoke those prophecies, they have arrived at the conclusion that Jesus was not directing those words to His First Century followers, or to anyone else who lived during that generation for that matter. The Futurist view is in fact that Jesus' words were only directed to the generation which would be alive at the time of His Second Coming. That is to say, to His followers who are currently alive in our OWN generation. This current generation would understand and experience the signs which Jesus described in Matthew 24, so the Futurists claim.

In short, when Jesus said "this generation", Futurists are convinced that He did not mean First Century Israel. Rather, He meant the generation which saw the fulfillment of all of the signs. This is the first assumption that many Futurists make. The second assumption is that First Century Christians did not have to know. They did not have to understand. Even the Angels did not have to know or understand either. Or at least so say the Futurists. The Futurist asks "What point would there be for them to know and understand? How could they possibly profit from such information if Jesus was not going to return for two thousand years? They couldn't profit from it, but we today most certainly can!"

So again, those are two of the primary assumptions which are made by Futurist-leaning Christians. As I mentioned in part one, until over a dozen years ago -- up to 2011-2012 -- I in fact thought and believed exactly like them. I used the very same reasoning, and I was absolutely convinced that I was right. Well, in a doctrinal sense, a lot has happened in my life since that time. Thanks to the prodding of the Lord's Holy Spirit, as I fully explain in some of my other articles such as "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", I was forced to make a complete U-turn in my life, insofar as my beliefs are concerned.

Now, you will no doubt have noticed that several times I used the word "assumption" in the previous paragraphs with regard to what the Futurists believe. The reason why I did that is because that is exactly what they are. You see, for some time now, I have noticed a disturbing attitude amongst some of my online Futurist-leaning friends. That attitude seems to be that unless they have seen it with their own eyes, or unless there is some clear, historical proof to substantiate a claim, then it just never happened. Tragically, they apply this very same attitude and criteria to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Some of them want historical proof that something happened as the Bible said it would happen.

Now, to be clear, I in large part agree with them. In fact, if you invest the time in reading some of my other prophecy related articles and series, you will discover that they are literally packed with historical information. Furthermore, I would dare say that over the past thirty-two years since I first began my online Christian ministry, I have personally invested literally thousands of hours in serious research, digging into ancient historical documents, reading a lot of Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias and lexicons, etc. So, yes, I definitely believe in historical research. In fact, I am quite convinced that Bible prophecy and secular history fit together like a hand in a glove. Furthermore, I am likewise convinced that it is next to impossible to properly grasp some of the deeper prophecies in the Bible -- such as the Book of Daniel -- unless one has seriously delved into the annals of history.

However, at the same time, I also recognize and understand that not everything that is contained in the Scriptures can be validated by secular history. This is due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes, due to time, decay, or intentional destruction, the original autographs -- that is to say, the manuscripts which were written by the original authors -- no longer exist. In other cases, we have copies of copies of copies, or even just fragments of parchments, cylinders or clay tablets. In short, while we know a lot about ancient history, we certainly do not know everything, because the historical record is spotty in some places. Furthermore, you would be surprised to learn how much disagreement there is between different historians, scholars, theologians, etc.

But the main point I am getting at is the following. Just because no historical evidence exists to validate certain Biblical events, is not sufficient reason to assume that something did not happen. In other words, my friends, it comes down to faith. Either you have faith in God's Word, or else you have faith in the secular historical record. If they contradict each other in some way, or if there is no historical evidence to verify a Biblical event, what are you going to do? Who are you going to trust? So this is the problem I see with some Futurists. They lack faith to believe some things just because the Bible says so.

But there is more to it than that. If there is one thing of which I am certain, it is that the Bible doesn't contradict itself. As I have explained on previous occasions, my view is that if there are any seeming contradictions, or if we are in any way confused regarding particular verses, the problem is NOT with the Bible itself, but rather with our personal understanding of the Scriptures. The second point is this. I am convinced that God does not lie. If in the Bible He said something, or did something, or stated that He would do something, then I believe it. Allow me to share a few related Bible verses with you:

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"


"He is‭ the Rock, his work ‭is‭ perfect: for all his ways ‭are‭ judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right ‭is‭ he.‭"


"Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.‭"


"That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.‭"


"And because I tell ‭you‭ the truth, ye believe me not.‭"


"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."


"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"


So if God the Father said that He was going to do something, then I believe it. If Jesus said that He was likewise going to do something, I believe that as well. Last of all, if the Apostles said some particular thing in the Gospels, or in the Epistles, or in the Book of Revelation, then I believe that they are also telling the truth. I have no reason to believe that they intentionally lied about anything. Now, back to the Futurist assumptions I mentioned earlier. Quite frankly, I am convinced that they are in serious error. Furthermore, I am convinced that either knowingly, or ignorantly, they are in denial of certain things that Jesus said, and certain things which the Apostles wrote. More on this point in a moment.

One major problem I see with a lot of modern Christians is that when it comes to serious Bible study, they seem to be rather adverse to it. Even on the social networks I see it a lot. Their attention spans seem to be so short, and many of them don't like to read lengthy dissertations. They just want quick little sound bites. They want memes. They want everything spoon-fed to them in small chunks. But as far as serious Bible study, and serious historical research, many of them are very lacking. Sadly, it is for that very reason that so many of them have become quite deceived by online preachers and wannabe prophets.

Why do so may of them become deceived? Because they do not have a strong foundation in God's Word, and thus they are carried about by every wind of strange doctrine. You see, if they DID have a strong foundation in the Scriptures, then just as occurred with me quite a few years ago, they would realize that Futurism is not only flawed, but it is in fact in contradiction to quite a few New Testament Bible verses.

Even when some of them do undertake some level of Bible study and research, they do it the wrong way. They start off on the wrong foot. What do I mean by this? Basically, when they read the Scriptures, they do so through a type of doctrinal lens. They begin with preconceived ideas, certain biases, as well as particular doctrinal leanings. Sadly, the end result is that rather reading and accepting the Bible for exactly what it says, they read it from the perspective of what they want to believe. In other words, they try to conform God's Word to what they already believe, instead of conforming their beliefs to what the Scriptures actually say.

Another problem is that they don't carefully and prayerfully compare Scripture with Scripture. Instead, what some of them will do is simply take several verses which seem to support their ideas, and make a doctrine out of them. This is wrong, wrong, wrong! We must consider the full counsel of God's Word in order to arrive at Spirit-led conclusions. As the Apostle Paul wrote, we need to rightly divide the word of truth, as we see by the following verse:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


So the above are some of the problems I have observed with some of my online Christian brethren. The last point I want to make before sharing a list of Bible verses with you is the following. This point is very important. As long as we lack true humility, we will never be able to admit when we have erred in a doctrinal sense. We won't admit it to ourselves, we won't admit it to God, and we most certainly won't admit it to our brethren. We would rather go down with the ship, as they say.

However, if we adopt this staunch position, in the end, we are only hurting ourselves, and also stunting our spiritual growth. Over a dozen years ago when the Lord began to reveal to me my own doctrinal errors, I had an important choice to make. I could either humbly accept what I believed the Lord was showing me in the Scriptures, or I could stubbornly and proudly resist it, and cling to my own misguided ideas. My friends, I really wanted the truth. Thus, I embraced what I was being shown.

So, then, for those Futurist-leaning Christians who embrace the views I mentioned in the first part of this article, I ask you to carefully and prayerfully consider the following list of Bible verses. These are some of the very same verses which the Lord pointed out to me more than a dozen years ago in order to show me that I was in error. If you would like to acquire a deeper understanding of these verses other than what I offer in the section below, then I invite you to read my companion series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return" Have We Been Deceived?". You will find it listed at the end of this same article. Let's begin with two things which Jesus said in the Gospels. Please note that for the sake of emphasis, I have placed certain words in uppercase letters in all of these verses. Please pay particular note to THE CONTEXT of each verse. In other words, notice exactly WHO it was spoken to or written to:

"But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, YE SHALL NOT HAVE GONE OVER THE CITIES OF ISRAEL, TILL THE SON OF MAN BE COME."


"Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, IF I WILL THAT HE TARRY TILL I COME, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, IF I WILL THAT HE TARRY TILL I COME, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true."


Turning to the Book of Revelation, we find eight important verses which clearly establish the time frame for when the Lord said He would return. Please note that some of these things were spoken to the Seven Churches which were in Asia during the First Century AD. These things were spoken to THEM, and NOT to us today:

"Behold, I COME QUICKLY: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."


"Behold, I COME QUICKLY: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book . . . And, behold, I COME QUICKLY; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be . . . He which testifieth these things saith, SURELY I COME QUICKLY. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."


"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND."


"And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND."


"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY COME TO PASS; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"


"And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY BE DONE."


My dear friends, it is difficult to ignore the spirit of urgency and anticipation in which the Book of Revelation is written. We see this very same spirit and attitude of strong anticipation in the writings of the Apostles as well. They clearly write as if they are expecting the Rapture of the Saints and Jesus' Return to occur in the near future, and in their lifetimes. They do NOT write as if it is some far-off event which will occur in the distant future long after they are dead. If you doubt that this is so, then please consider the following group of verses, paying particular attention to the words which I have again placed in uppercase letters. I include a personal explanatory note after each set of verses:

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass IN THE LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:"


NOTE #1: In Acts 2:16-18, the Apostle Peter -- who had just been filled with the Holy Spirit -- is clearly saying two things: Joel's prophecy was being fulfilled at that time during the First Century, and that period was also the Last Days. The phrase "in the last days" does NOT mean from 30 AD to the 21st Century, as some modern, Futurist-leaning Bible teachers erroneously teach. That is a false doctrine of men. Peter is actually referring to the final years of Daniel's "Seventy Weeks Prophecy", which covers a span of 490 years ending in possibly 70 AD -- which was in the middle of the First Jewish-Roman War when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed -- or in 73 AD at the end of the war when the fortress of Masada was taken.

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN [meaning Paul and other First Century Christians] unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN [meaning Paul and other First Century Christians] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."


NOTE #2: The fact that in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, the Apostle Paul includes himself by saying "we" is clear proof that he was fully expecting Christ's soon return, and he was hoping to still be alive to witness it himself.

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath IN THESE LAST DAYS spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"


NOTE #3: In Hebrews 1:1-2, the phrase "lasts days" refer to the very end of the Prophet Daniel's 70 weeks -- or 490 years -- prophecy. It has nothing to do with our modern times, as Futurists claim.

"For yet a little while, and he that shall come [meaning Jesus] WILL COME, and WILL NOT TARRY."


NOTE #4: In Hebrews 10:37, the phrase "a little while" does NOT mean 2,000 years in the future as the Futurists claim. We are also told that Jesus will not tarry. The writer is obviously expecting Christ's soon return.

"Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together FOR THE LAST DAYS . . . Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH."


NOTE #5: In James 5:2-3, 7-8, the Apostle James is likewise confirming that it was the Last Days, and he was convinced that Jesus would be returning soon.

"But the END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."


NOTE #6: 1 Peter 4:7 confirms the phrase "in these last days" mentioned in Hebrews 1:1-2 above.

"Little children, IT IS THE LAST TIME: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE LAST TIME."


NOTE #7: In 1 John 2:18, not once, but twice, the Apostle John tells his readers that it is the Last Time, or the very end of the Prophet Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy. Notice how very sure that John is about this. That is why he uses the words "We know that it is the last time." And then John is given the amazing Book of Revelation.

Personally, I can only arrive at one conclusion, and that is that Peter, James and John -- who were the Lord's inner circle -- as well as the Apostle Paul, were all convinced that Jesus would return during their lifetimes, exactly as He had promised them in the following group of verses:

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also . . . I will not leave you comfortless: I WILL COME TO YOU."


How can so many modern, Futurist-leaning Christians continue to resist the plain truth of the Scriptures? So as you can hopefully see, the spirit of urgency and anticipation that we see in the Book of Revelation, is reflected in the writings of the Apostles just as much. In light of this preponderance of Scriptural evidence, I can only conclude that to suggest that Jesus' First Century followers did not need to know or understand, does not make sense to me at all. If they didn't really need to know and understand, as the Futurists claim, then Jesus would not have told them. Yet He most certainly did tell them, because He promised to return during their lifetimes, and I believe that He kept His word to them.

Before concluding this series, I would like to take a moment to address my Christian brethren who still embrace Futurism. My friends, first of all, I want you to know that I do not judge you or condemn you for your current beliefs. After all, it would be rather hypocritical for me to do so considering that I was likewise deceived by Futurism for forty years of my adult Christian life, until the Lord finally woke me up.

My goal in writing this series, as in everything that I have written over the years, is simply to share Scriptural truth as I have come to understand it. The truth is very important to me. I often pray that the Lord will not allow me to ever become deceived again, as I was for so many years. I also pray that He will continue to reveal more and more Biblical truth to me, as I continue to delve ever more deeply into His wonderful Word. As He does, it will continue to be my personal goal to share these truths with the world.

As a former Futurist myself, I know how you think. Some of the things you still believe today, I likewise believed for such a long time. I was completely convinced of them, and I fervently defended them and taught them. So I understand how deeply embedded such beliefs can become in a person's life, even if said beliefs are wrong. That is where the hard part enters the picture. It takes a lot of honesty and humility to be willing to admit to ourselves, to God, and likewise to our brethren, that we have been wrong, misguided, and a little off in our beliefs.

My friends, I have been down that road. After forty years of being a staunch Futurist, I had to admit that I had been misled, and that I had become quite deceived. Not only was I personally deceived, but I was unknowingly and ignorantly deceiving others as well due to the things that I taught. It was of course not done with malicious intent. I was simply convinced of those things which I taught, just as you still are today. However, once God began to reveal things to me back in 2011-2012, I simply could not resist the truth of the Scriptures. Thus, since that time, I have worked hard to correct, update and rewrite those articles and series where I know that I have been in error.

So, I want you to understand that the things which I write regarding Futurism, aren't an attack against you personally. They are an exposé of the false doctrines themselves. Simply put, I want you to know the truth. I want to give you a big opportunity to escape the deception of Futurism. However, it must be by your own choice. I can show you the evidence, but you alone must decide whether or not you want to believe it. I have done my job. The ball is now in your court. What will you do? I pray you make the right choice.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you've found it informative and enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Are You Flexible?
As a Thief in the Night
Fight Against Futurism
He That Shall Endure unto the End
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
In the Ages to Come
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Modern Deception: Shall a Nation Be Born at Once?
Modern Deceptions: Return to Israel, the Fig Tree and This Generation
My Evolving Theology
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Prophetic Comparisons: Moshiach, Mahdi and Messiah
Psalm 83 War False Doctrine Exposed!
Seventy Weeks Prophecy: What It Means
So, You Have Got It All Figured Out, Do You?
Sorry, Jesus Is Not Coming at Any Moment
The 70th Week of Daniel Error: Are You Guilty?
The Day I Am Waiting For
The Day of the Lord: What It Really Means
The Great Tribulation and the Rapture
The Last Seven Years Chart
The Misguided End of the World Predictions of Harold Camping
The Triumphant Touchdown of Jesus Christ
The Two Sackcloth Witnesses of Revelation 11
The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000
Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?
Understanding the Bible in Context
Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem
When Was Satan Cast Out of Heaven?
Who Hindered the Antichrist?
Who is Babylon the Great?
Who is Moshiach ben David?
Who is Who?: Defining Important Prophecy Terms

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