Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "This I say, brethren, the time is short" (1 Cor. 7:29). "Now all these things [various judgments of Old Testament saints] happened unto them for examples: and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10:11). And to the saints at Rome he wrote, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand" (Rom. 13:12).

Peter wrote, "The end of all things is at hand" (1 Pet. 4:7a). There is no reason to believe that Peter or Paul had in mind that the end of all things was in the distant future.

The writer to the Hebrew Christians said, "But now once in the end of the world hath he [Jesus] appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26). And, "[Exhort] one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25). The writer believed that the first appearance of Jesus to die on the cross and "the end of the world" were in the same time frame. Also, the writer penned, "For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay" (Heb. 10:37).

James wrote, "Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (Jam. 5:8b NKJV).

In approximately A. D. 95 the apostle John wrote, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1). And, "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" (Rev. 1:3). John wrote, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (1 Jn. 2:18 NKJV).

It is obvious from the many verses above that the writers believed the end of the world and the return of Christ was at hand, not in the distant future, and especially not 2,000 years later. God does not lie. In fact, if we believe the Scriptures Jesus, who is God incarnate, and who, by His Holy Spirit inspired the writers to pen an infallible and inerrant Bible, is the Truth (Jn. 14:6) and "it is impossible for God to lie" (Heb. 6:18).

The obvious conclusion is that everything the writers of Holy Writ penned about the end of the world being at hand is true. It is also obvious to the rational person that the world has not yet come to an end. So, how do we reconcile the apparent contradiction? This is the point at which the Preterists err, and from which they build their numerous false teachings based on their presupposition.

Since it is established by Scripture that the inspired writers believed the end of the world was near, it is obvious that there was a postponement of the consummation of the ages and the end of the world. But does God inspire men to write one thing, for example that the end of all things is near or at hand, and then postpone or delay the same in a way that seems contrary to His Word? Following are two things that help us to see that the Word of God does not contradict itself:

First, "The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:7-9). "What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" (Rom. 9:22).

The essence of God’s longsuffering is the postponement of inevitable wrath and judgment. God’s ultimate demonstration of His love is Him sending His only begotten Son (God incarnate) to die for the sins of the whole world. God’s ultimate demonstration of His longsuffering is the postponement of the end of the world and the judgment of all mankind and angels.

Second, following is a small example of God postponing what He had already said would soon take place. King Hezekiah had a terminal illness and his death was imminent. Isaiah was sent by the Lord to tell Hezekiah to set his house in order because he was going to die. But after Hezekiah prayed, God told Isaiah to tell the king that He would heal him and add fifteen years to his life. Hezekiah's death, according to God, was at hand but He postponed it for fifteen years. God is sovereign, and He can do anything that He wants to do. Nothing is impossible with God (Mat. 19:26).

On the sixteenth day of the eighth month of 1980 God showed me a very clear vision of the entire world engulfed in flames and He clearly said to me, "The world is coming to an end." That was my first encounter with the Lord and I was saved ten weeks later on 10/25/1980. After I was born again I read in the Scriptures for the first time what Peter wrote about the last day which is precisely what I saw in the vision. (That is the only vision I have ever seen.) Peter wrote, "The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment...The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:7, 10). I am 100 percent certain that the vision I saw and the words I heard were from God Almighty. This flies in the face of the Preterists with their pitiful attempts to explain away the clear teachings of Scripture in order to make them fit their false system of eschatology.

The Bible reveals that oftentimes God's judgment covers a forty-year period or comes within forty years after His warning of the same. For example, Jerusalem was destroyed in A. D. 70, which was within forty years of Jesus’ prophesy of the event. (I want to make it clear that I am not setting dates---no man knows the hour or the day---but we can know the season when the last day is near.) If there is a correlation, then could it be that God will destroy the world within forty years after He showed me the vision depicted in 2 Peter 3:10 and told me, "The world is coming to an end"? If so, then the world will come to an end sometime around the year 2020, if not before. If this is the case, then what is referred to as the "Great Tribulation" (lasting three and a half years—not seven) will begin and the Antichrist will be revealed no later than 2016.

For those who cannot accept that the world will be burned up on the last day of the Great Tribulation when Jesus comes back (not 1,000 years later), please read the article titled The Last Day. This will clearly reveal to you what the Scriptures have to say about this fact.

To support their false teaching Preterists must "spiritualize" many verses of Scripture and somehow rationalize obvious reality such as the fact that we are not living on a New Earth in which God has made "all things new" (Rev. 21:1-5). God said through the prophet Isaiah concerning the end time, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind" (Isa. 65:17).

This writer could cite many verses of Scripture taken in their proper context and meaning to refute various points of the false doctrines of Preterism. But for those who have the Holy Spirit in them to confirm the truth, more than enough has already been written. I learned long ago that all false doctrine is the doctrine of demons, and those who continue to perpetuate false teachings contrary to the truths of God’s Word open themselves up for demonization and, not only is it a waste of time, but it is impossible to reason with a demon. This is the main reason for the stronghold and unwillingness for some to accept the truths contained in this article. "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Tim. 4:1). Those who have "ears to hear" can hear.

Another reason why true Christians accept the false teachings of Preterism is because they are not disciples (learners) of Jesus, the conditions for which must be met as set forth in Luke 14:26, 27 and 33 or else they cannot be His disciples (learners).

Another reason is there is a lack of discernment including a lack of the gift of discerning of spirits in order to discern false teachings such as Preterism. The Preterists are obviously lacking in discernment when they claim that demons, if they are present at all, have virtually no influence with Christians. This assertion is proof that they know nothing of spiritual warfare and that they have never done anything that is a threat to Satan’s cause. Otherwise, they would have experienced demonic attacks, and discerned that many people are demonized (although, not necessarily maniacal), and, in these last days of apostasy, a significant number of true Christians are demonized and need to be delivered. Likewise, they have never cast a demon out of anyone.

Another reason why Preterists will not accept this refutation is because of pride. Even if they recognize that they have been deceived and have been teaching false doctrine, they would rather continue embracing the heresy than admit to their congregations, or others, that they were wrong and guilty of teaching false doctrine. God warns us through James, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment" (3:1).

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