Preterism and Futurism

 

 

Two unique positions

Though similar in some respects,

The similarities they accept

But the differences reject.

 

The former says, already passed

With a little in the future,

The latter posits yet to happen

As its principal picture.

 

Eschatological positions-

That is what this is about:

Examining last day things

And how they will work out.

 

Accepted to come:

 

The final judgment

 And the consummation of all things,

Regarding both of these

From the same page they sing.

 

Neither holds his position

As a requirement for salvation

And both are cognizant

Of the Great Commission.

 

Go ye into all the world

And preach the Good News,

In this regard

They are of like views.

 

Their differences come

With when the end will occur

And whether present day happenings

To the last days refer.

 

 

A different view of Revelation

Concerning the time,

On its judgments and redemption

They differently opine.

 

The latter says futuristic

The preterists, it’s mostly passed,

Occurring in the first century

Is what they have grasped.

 

The Great Tribulation is passed

And therefore, not yet to come

And presently we are living

In the time of the kingdom.

 

The futurists disagree,

These things are yet to happen,

We are living in the last days

And it’s near the end, they reckon.

 

Present day happenings:

For them, these are the signs

That Jesus is about to return

And to this they are inclined.

 

 

Keep your eyes on Israel

They would also advise

And very soon we should expect

The antichrist to arise.

 

The generation that see

Israel become a nation again

Will also see Jesus

When he comes back to reign.

 

Differing interpretations

Regarding St. Matthew 24

Which generation? That’s the question:

Whether now or before.

 

Preterists argue “this generation”

Is the one to whom Jesus spoke,

But futurists disagree

And uses the fig-tree quote.

 

The fig-tree they argue

Is a reference to Israel

And “this generation” must mean

Twenty-first Century people. 

 

 

It is this generation

That witnessed the event

When Israel became a nation;

Time is far spent.

 

Jesus is standing up

And he is about to return,

This is the lesson from the fig-tree

That we ought to learn.

 

A coming in judgment

On the nation of Israel

And it has already happened

On the Jewish people.

 

This is the preterists’ position

Which they advance

But as you can see,

Futurists take a different stance.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020

   

Don’t Get Confused

 

 

A sign is not the reality

Neither a symptom the problem

But it is at the back end

That we treat to both of them.

 

Jesus in Matthew 24

Spoke about many a sign

But the signs were not the end

As he did remind.

 

Matthew 24:6

 

And ye shall hear of wars

And rumours of wars:

See that ye be not troubled:

For all these things must come to pass,

But the end is not yet.

 

Myriad signs

But the end is not yet,

To confuse signs with the reality

Is to be out of step.

 

We yet look for signs,

I’m not too sure for what

Since the coming Jesus spoke of,

Those back there got.

 

 

That generation, he said,

Would not pass away

And they would see him come again

On a soon to come day.

 

And he gave many signs

That pointed to this reality,

And the Bible shows this clearly

In its fulfilled prophecy.

 

Take note of the signs

But don’t confuse the two,

A sign certainly is not the reality:

This is absolutely true.

 

 

 

A symptom is not the problem

Yet we treat to symptoms,

Panadol and the like we often use

But still, we have the problem.

 

Not only in human illnesses

But in politics as well

And illnesses that beset countries

Is on which we now dwell.

 

The sign of gun prevalence

To us is starkly clear,

It has become a sinister problem

Which many countries fear.

 

More than thirty gun-deaths

In Barbados the past year

Plus, another almost 20 homicides

Driving us to despair.

 

 

Dealing with the outcome

Is like treating to the symptom

But does proportionately very little

Re the cause of the problem.

 

The source of the guns:

Who are bringing them in?

Is there any possibility of discovering

The source of this spring?

 

And if in fact there is,

Why is there this reluctance

To tackle the source of this scourge

With intelligence?

 

 

For every gun that kills

There is obviously a user

But pray tell, how did it get here

Without an importer?

 

The user is the symptom

The importer is the problem,

Are these problems so complex

That none can solve them?

 

A sign is not the reality

Neither a symptom the problem

But it is at the very source of each

That we ought to treat them.

 

Start arresting importers:

They are the source of the spring,

Regardless of status or affiliation

Let the police bring them in.

 

Stewart Russell © March 15, 2025

 

Its Radical Nearness

 

 

Jesus is coming soon!

It is nearer than we think!

It is so near, some even say

“In just another blink!”

 

This was noised abroad

Way back in the 1^st Century

And some of the things Jesus said

Suggested that eventuality.

 

It was not Jesus alone

But some of the apostles too,

Peter, James and John

Were of a similar view.

 

Hebrews 1:1-2

 

Paul was of the same mind

And the writer to the Hebrews,

Not near as in 2000 years

But a lesser distant view.

 

 

Jesus said “this generation”

And even some standing still

Would not taste of death

Till all these things be fulfilled.

 

Were anyone of them

Still in in our company today,

Methuselah could not be the oldest-

Oh no, my friend, no way!

 

Jesus’ response to his disciples

Indicated radical nearness

And the queries they asked of him

Were of an urgent request.

 

Hence Jesus responded in kind

And they clearly understood,

It shocked the daylights out of them

Right where the temple stood.

 

The temple was their life

And Jerusalem was their city

Yet Jesus said when these things occur

From the city they should flee.

 

Flee to the mountains he said

For these be the days of vengeance,

What is written was fulfilled

It is all in the past tense.

 

This was counterproductive,

It should be the other way around

But Jesus was warning them

The temple would be torn down.

 

 

In a city refuge is found

But surely not at this time,

They must depart their cherished city

If safety was on their mind.

 

Jerusalem would be breached

It would be judgment time

And not one stone upon another

Of the temple they would find.

 

Their house would be desolate

As Jesus had foretold,

The end of the old Jewish covenant

Seemed a heavy load.

 

This was the great tribulation

About which the apostle John had warned,

As chronicled in Revelation,

This was the impending storm.

 

He used words like near

At the door and also at hand,

Jesus would be coming quickly

According to the Divine plan.

 

But this radical nearness

Does not apply to us

Two thousand years hence

Since the advent of Jesus.

 

In James chapter 5 and verse 8

There is more,

The coming of the Lord drew near!

The judge stood at the door! 

 

1 Peter 4:7

 

Peter said to watch and pray

The end of all things was at hand

The apostle Paul in Romans 13:12

Saw it as God’s unfolding plan.

 

Little children, it is the last time

This according to 1^st John 2:18,

The “many antichrists” was the sign

And were already on the scene.

 

 

 

The things spoken of in Revelation

Were to shortly come to pass,

Not the future in the 21^st Century

But the 1st Century that is passed.

 

Revelation 1:3

 

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.

 

Paul presented a history lesson

In 1^st Corinthians 10

Showing that idolatrous fornication

Was Israel’s problem.

 

After all of God’s mercies

And all His benefits to them,

They made and worshipped a golden calf

Despite being His children.

 

Twenty-three thousand fell

In one single day,

So, in chapter 10 and verse 11

Here is what Paul had to say.

 

Now all these things

happened unto them for ensamples:

and they are written for our admonition,

upon whom the ends of the world are come.

 

The ends of their world had come

As they soon came to recognize,

Certainly, to John and the apostles

It would come as no surprise.

 

It was radically near

As all the prophecies declared

And the fact they all came to pass

To me is biblically clear.

 

Stewart Russell © November 12, 2021

 

Royal Sons and Daughters

 

 

No, it’s not an error

That this title bears

But in fact, the Gospel Truth,

And what the Bible says.

 

An immediate designation

To all of the born-again

That march forth unashamedly

Bearing Jesus’ name.

 

Royal sons and daughters

Having received the Christ

Unlike his own that he came to

That reveled in their vice.

 

In the Gospel of Matthew

Chapters 23 and 24,

Jesus detailed their judgment

In trials to come and woes.

 

“This generation” he said,

And also “some standing here,”

They would see these things

And not our modern day.

 

 

 

Royal sons and daughters

Are not exclusively the Jews

But all born-again believers

Who the Saviour, choose.

 

Not to be confused of course,

With loyal sons and daughters,

This also is very important

But a different matter.

 

How wonderful it would be

As Independence draws near

That we be both royal and loyal

And in both aspects share!

 

A child of the King of kings

And of the New Jerusalem,

As well as “sons and daughters all”

Being good Barbados citizens.

 

Reliant on God our Father

Yes, a child of royalty

Fulfilling our purpose to country

In pride and industry.

 

Under the Sovereign God

And to our sovereign state

Of course, first royalty then loyalty,

Getting priorities straight.

 

And when it comes to sides,

Let us be on God’s side

And as our leaders emulate Moses

We are bound to thrive.

 

 

Who is on the LORD'S side?

This must be the question!

Loyal may be the path we take

But royal is His kingdom.

 

As loyal sons and daughters

To Barbados our country fair

Yes, under God, the King of kings

Who our burdens share.

 

Without Him we are nothing

Neither royal nor loyal,

And to Him we owe everything

For He is ever faithful.

 

Stewart Russell © November 26, 2023