The TRUE Meaning of Matthew 16:28!

FULL Preterist Christians believe that the SECOND COMING of Jesus was FULFILLED in 70 AD.

And they use Matthew 16:28 and also use Matthew 10:23 as some of their proof texts to try and prove that Jesus would return BEFORE his disciples could even finish preaching the gospel in all the cities in Israel. 

We will first read Matthew 10:23 taken OUT of context with the Preterist FORCED meaning in mind on this ISOLATED verse. 

And then we will take a closer look at what this verse is truly saying in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

Matthew 10:23.

“But when they persecute you in this city, flee you into another: for verily I say unto you, You shall NOT have gone over the cities of Israel, TILL the Son of man HAS COME.”

Now the preterists dogmatically demand that this verse is speaking of the SECOND coming of Jesus that was FULFILLED in 70 AD.

However, the very notion or conclusion that this text even alludes to the SECOND COMING of Jesus is shown to be a FALSE conclusion by the mere FACT that such a CONCLUSION would then clearly imply that Jesus KNEW with absolute certainty when his coming again would be.

I mean THINK this through for yourself dear children of God. IF SO BE that one INTERPRETS Matthew 10:23 to mean without fail that Jesus is speaking of his SECOND COMING, then this would consequently mean as well that Jesus KNEW the day and the hour of his COMING. 

But the word of TRUTH clearly teaches us that Jesus did NOT KNOW the day and hour of his COMING.

Therefore, it is NOT possible for this verse in Matthew 10:23 to be speaking of the SECOND COMING of Jesus.

Personally, I believe that the words “be come” in the KJV or as “has come” in other “translations” of Matthew 10:23 could also be translated as “until the Son of Man be SET”.

In other words, at this point in time, the preaching was about the coming of the Kingdom being nigh at hand. And this was before the Cross and Resurrection

And that was WHEN the Son of Man was highly exalted to be SET on the Throne of his God and Father BEFORE his disciples had even finished preaching the coming of the Kingdom just is the cities in the land of Israel.

Here is how the concordance in E-Sword defines the Greek word “translated” as “be come” in the KJV.

G2064

ἔρχομαι

erchomai

er'-khom-ahee

Middle voice of a primary verb (used only in the present and imperfect tenses, the others being supplied by a kindred [middle voice] word, ἐλεύθομαι eleuthomai or ἔλθω elthō; which do not otherwise occur); to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively): - accompany, appear, bring, come enter, fall out, go, grow, X light, X next, pass, resort, be set.

Total KJV occurrences: 639.

Let’s read Matthew 10:23 with the alternate meaning of “be set” in the light of the Son of Man being MADE Lord and King after the Cross and resurrection.

Matthew 10:23.

“But when they persecute you in this city, flee you into another: for verily I say unto you, You shall NOT have gone over the cities of Israel, TILL the Son of man BE SET.

Matthew 10:24. The disciple is Not Above his master, nor the servant Above his Lord. 

Matthew 10:25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall He (Referring to Almighty God, the Father) call them of His household?”

In other words, at the coming of Jesus, we who believe and are found worthy to receive eternal life shall ALSO be made lords and kings to rule with Jesus for 1000 years over the whole earth.

So then, seeing that the PRETERIST “interpretation” CONTRADICTS other parts of God's word, then I must conclude that their INTERPRETATION is FALSE.

And therefore, I must look for a better interpretation that does NOT CONTRADICT any other part of God’s word.

And the above interpretation that I feel is the best does not contradict any other verses of Scripture.

I pray that you can now see that the preterists interpretation CONTRADICTS other parts of God’s word.

Let’s take a look at some OTHER interpretations of Matthew 10:23 to see if they will AGREE with the WHOLE word of Almighty God without any contradictions.

One such interpretation says that Matthew 10:23 is also NOT solely speaking of the SECOND COMING of Jesus, but rather is referring to the KINGDOM of HEAVEN that Jesus was preaching was AT HAND. 

Please read Colossians 1:13, which teaches us that BELIEVERS in Jesus Christ are TRANSLATED into the KINGDOM of the Son of Almighty God the Father the very MOMENT that we BELIEVE. 

So then, the KINGDOM of Jesus, God’s dear Son, actually came on the day of PENTECOST when the church BEGAN and NOT in 70 AD as the preterist CLAIM.

In fact, Jesus came again from the dead and entered into the Glory of His God and Father on the very morning of his resurrection when he ascended into heaven. 

Remember that another meaning of the Greek word translated as “be come” also means “come and enter” together, which is what took place at the Resurrection.

And then, the Glorified Son of Man, descended from heaven to show himself ALIVE for forty days to his disciples.

So, one could argue that the Kingdom of God’s dear Son actually began at the Resurrection of Jesus.

Colossians 1:13.

“Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has TRANSLATED us into the KINGDOM of his dear Son:”

Please understand that no one would be translated into the KINGDOM of the Son of Man UNTIL Jesus SUFFERED and DIED on the cross, which had NOT happened as yet in Matthew 10:23. 

In other words, the KINGDOM of the Son of Man had NOT yet COME and would ONLY come AFTER Jesus had suffered and died on the cross and was raised from the dead. 

Therefore, in Matthew 10:23 the KINGDOM of God was AT HAND about ready to come.

So then, Matthew 10:23 was indeed FULFILLED in that GENERATION that was alive in the day of Jesus, but NOT in the WAY that preterists dogmatically demand that verse to be understood, in that, this verse is speaking SOLELY of the SECOND COMING of Jesus and cannot possible mean anything else, according to THEM.

However, as you can plainly see, people are still yet ENTERING INTO the KINGDOM of God to this present day. 

In other words, Matthew 10:23 was INITIALLY fulfilled on the day of PENTECOST and continues to be fulfilled during each generation every time a person believes in Jesus to be TRANSLATED into the KINGDOM of God.

Can you not see how flawed the logic or PRETERISM is my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ by focusing solely on Matthew 10:23 out of its context? 

Did not Jesus ALSO say in Matthew 24:14 that the END would NOT come UNTIL the GOSPEL is preached unto ALL the WORLD?

Matthew 24:14.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto ALL NATIONS; and THEN shall the END come.”

And NOT to just the CITIES that were in the ONE NATION of Israel as Matthew 10:23 clearly states.

This is NOT a contradiction, but rather, Jesus is foretelling of yet another PHASE of the preaching of the Kingdom to the Gentiles.

In other words, the preaching began BEFORE the Cross, which recorded in Matthew 10:23.

Then the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for at first preached only to the Jews.

And then, God turned the Gospel to the Gentiles.

But even after that there is yet a future phase of returning to the Jews after the fulness of the Gentiles is come in. 

So then, the gospel MUST, without fail, be preached to ALL the NATIONS of the ENTIRE world before Jesus returns from heaven at his coming.

And even this verse in Matthew 24:14 is NOT speaking SOLELY of JUST the SECOND COMING of Jesus, but also refers to those being TAUGHT of the Lord DURING the LITERAL 1000 year reign of Jesus where the END comes ONLY after the LAST enemy DEATH is destroyed in the lake of fire.

Please understand that none of these verses contradict each other as some atheists claim.

But rather, each verse has a fulfillment, which is now historical, but yet also foretells of a future fulfilment as well.

 I believe that I have given those who are TRULY seeking the TRUTH enough evidence on this particular verse in Matthew 10:23 for you to see that the “PRETERIST” interpretation is a FALSE teaching that should be rejected.

 So then, let’s move on to the next verse that preterists use to try and prove their theology.

The next verse that the Preterists use is Matthew 16:28, which again they take OUT of CONTEXT to try and prove that Jesus has ALREADY returned in 70 AD.

Matthew 16:28.

“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not TASTE of DEATH, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

As I have said many times that any verse when taken OUT of CONTEXT and viewed ALONE and APART from the REST of God's word may SEEM to be saying something that it is NOT TRULY saying. 

Also, I might add that some verses used by those who teach FALSE teachings of any kind simply read their “preconceived” belief into the verse out of its context.

So then, let us now read this verse 28 in Matthew 16 that is in question by reading Matthew 16:13-28 with verse 28 being KEPT IN its CONTEXT this time to learn the TRUE meaning of this verse in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

Please read Matthew 16:13-28, where Jesus asked his disciples what the people were saying as to who he was. And then he asked his disciple who THEY themselves believed Jesus to be?

Jesus is teaching us to not always believe what others SAY we are to believe, but rather, listen to what the Holy Spirit speaks to you.

Matthew 16:13-28.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his DISCIPLES, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?’

Matthew 16:14. And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias (Jeremiah) or one of the prophets

Matthew 16:15. He said unto them, But who do YOU say (Asking ALL of his disciples) that I am?

Matthew 16:16. And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the CHRIST, (The ANOINTED ONE of God, the MESSIAH) the SON OF the living God. (This is important to UNDERSTAND the TRUE meaning of verse 28. 

For you see, it was Almighty God the Father who REVEALED to Peter that Jesus IS the anointed one that the SCRIPTURES have PROPHESIED to COME. 

Therefore, they UNDERSTAND that Jesus is that ONE that they have been LOOKING for to COME)

Matthew 16:17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: (WHY? Why does Jesus tell Peter that he is BLESSED?) FOR (Or BECAUSE) flesh and blood has NOT revealed it unto you, (Meaning that the doctrines of MEN have NOT revealed this TRUTH to you) BUT (Or but RATHER) my Father which is in heaven. (Or but rather it was Almighty God HIMSELF who has REVEALED this TRUTH to you that Jesus IS the CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE, the MESSIAH who was foretold to COME who is the SON OF the living God)

Matthew 16:18. And I say ALSO unto you, That you are Peter, and upon THIS ROCK (WHAT ROCK? What ROCK is Jesus speaking of here? We have THREE choices. The rock is Peter. The rock is Jesus being the CHRIST, the SON OF the living God, which is the TRUTH. The rock is the REVEALED TRUTH that is given to us BY Almighty God HIMSELF) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (To me, I myself see the ROCK and being the REVEALED TRUTH, which INCLUDES the REVELATION KNOWLEDGE that Jesus IS the CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE prophesied to come, the SON OF the living God)

Matthew 16:19. And I will give unto YOU (Jesus is speaking to ALL his disciples INCLUDING us, his church, who have believed on the WORDS of the disciples of Jesus. In other words, Jesus is saying, I will give YOU my disciples, my whole CHURCH) the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Now some other false teachers will TWIST this verse to CLAIM that they ALONE are the ONE TRUE church. And they are the ONLY church that can trace their roots all the way back to PETER, who they CLAIM is the first POPE who ALONE was given the KEYS of the kingdom of heaven. Then those keys were handed down from Pope to Pope all through the history of the Roman Catholic church. So therefore, according to THEM there can be NO salvation OUTSIDE the Roman Catholic church. You see HOW verses can be taken OUT of context and FORCED to say what they are NOT TRULY saying)

Matthew 16:20. Then he charged his DISCIPLES that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. (First of all Jesus charged his disciples to not preach that he is the Christ until after the Cross. 

But concerning the KEYS of the Kingdom, Jesus was speaking to ALL his disciples and NOT to just Peter alone. And We who BELIEVE in Jesus through the word of these early disciples in the day of Jesus are the disciples of Jesus as well. 

So the KEYS of the kingdom belong to ALL believers in Jesus. Enough said on that false teaching of only the Roman Catholic Pope having the keys of the Kingdom. 

Let us get back to the subject of this study which is to show the errors of interpretation made by preterists. 

I want you to FOCUS on these early disciples of Jesus BEFORE Jesus went to the cross. 

You see dear children of God these early disciples AT that moment in time did NOT UNDERSTAND all the prophecies of the Old Testament. 

These early disciples did NOT know that it was prophesied for their MESSIAH to SUFFER and DIE on the cross for their sins and for the sins of eth WHOLE world. 

All these early disciples of Jesus understood at that moment in time that it was just REVEALED to them by Almighty God himself that Jesus was the CHRIST, the ANOINTED one whom they have been LOOKING FOR to COME. 

And then Jesus drops a BOMBSHELL on them in the following verses that they were NOT willing to accept right off so Jesus had to REBUKE Satan who was LYING to them)

Matthew 16:21. From that TIME forth (This is a TIME defining moment specifically stating that from that moment forward) BEGAN Jesus to show unto his disciples, HOW that he must go unto Jerusalem, and SUFFER many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be KILLED, and be RAISED AGAIN the third day.

Matthew 16:22. Then Peter took him, and began to REBUKE him (Jesus), saying, Be it far from you, Lord: THIS SHALL NOT BE unto YOU. (Me paraphrasing in my OWN words what might have been going on the mind of Peter, 'NO Lord this cannot be, you cannot DIE, you are the MESSIAH how can it be that you are going to die? 

We have waited so long for your coming and now you are telling us that you must suffer and die. This shall NOT be done unto you for you are our MESSIAH')

Matthew 16:23. But he (Jesus) turned, and said unto Peter, Get you behind me, Satan: you are an OFFENSE unto me: for you savor NOT the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (FALSE teaching is an OFFENSE to Jesus. You see dear children of God, when those who LISTEN to SATAN the DECEIVER to NOT embrace the TRUTH of God's word and heap to themselves teachers who will teach them goodly and pleasant things that will TICKLE their ear they are an OFFENSE to Jesus. 

Please understand that it is not that the PERSON who is the offense, but rather the LYING doctrine of devils that is the OFFENSE to Jesus. 

Peter was being DECEIVED by Satan by NOT accepting the TEACHING of Jesus telling his disciple what their Messiah MUST do, but BEFORE Jesus could explain the WHOLE matter Peter went ballistic on Jesus refusing to before his MESSIAH. 

This is WHY it is SO important that Christians hear the WHOLE matter before they take off running with any teaching that they have heard that TICKLES their ear. 

It is also vitally important that Christians hear the WHOLE matter BEFORE the judge prematurely that any teaching is FALSE lest they jump to the WRONG conclusion and continue to believe FALSE teaching that they sincerely believe in the truth. 

So PLEASE hear me out to hear the WHOLE matter)

Matthew 16:24. Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Paul said the same things, but in different words. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 “I DIE daily”. A Christian is to consider himself DEAD to sin)

Matthew 16:25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Basically, these two verses are saying in simplicity that it is NOT about what YOU want, but rather it is about what Almighty God the Father was ordained to BE so. That is to say if you want to receive eternal life in the world to come you must obey the will of Almighty God the Father and NOT follow the LIES of Satan, who desire to DECEIVE you with what pleases YOU)

Matthew 16:26. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father WITH his angels, and THEN he shall reward every man according to his works. (This is speaking of the SECOND coming of Jesus at the END of this present age or world. And at which TIME Jesus will reward the FAITHFUL believers in HIM with eternal life in the world to come and grant them to sit on his Father's throne WITH him to rule and reign for a LITERAL 1000 years in his Father's kingdom ON or OVER the EARTH. And Jesus will REWARD the unsaved and the disobedient with the WRATH of God)

Matthew 16:28. Verily (Or TRULY or of a TRUTH) I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not TASTE of DEATH, till they see the Son of man coming in his KINGDOM.”

Now, this verse 28 is the verse in question. And it has several meanings or interpretations where SOME points of the interpretation seem valid, but all the questions surrounding this verse are not truly answered to my own satisfaction based upon the WHOLE word of God.

The most logical interpretation is that Jesus is NOT talking to JUST his twelve disciples and ONLY his Disciples. But rather the Greek word “translated” as “some” also means any person. Therefore, there will be some people standing HERE who shall not taste of death, until they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom.

In other words, Jesus is saying that there will be some in the FUTURE STANDING right there where his disciples were standing who will NOT taste of death, until they see Jesus coming again.

Now while this interpretation has MUCH truth in it, to me it does not fully answer all the questions that I myself have concerning this verse being left in its CONTEXT.

So then ,for me personally, I myself am leaning more toward three other different interpretations of verse 28 that do not contradict any other part of God's word and where together they answer ALL the questions surrounding this verse.

In other words, I agree that this is a possible and valid interpretation, but there are THREE other meanings or interpretations of verse 28, where ALL THREE meanings are TRUE and where ALL THREE meanings do NOT CONTRADICT any other part of God's word. 

And thus these other three meanings better answer all the questions surrounding this verse.

The first of these other three meanings of verse 28 is that Jesus is speaking of his KINGDOM, referring to this PRESENT church age where the gospel is yet being preached in all the world.

But more SPECIFICALLY Jesus is directing his words to the early disciples who were living in the day of Jesus who would NOT die until AFTER Jesus went to Jerusalem to SUFFER and DIE on the cross.

For you see, the yet coming Kingdom of THAT DAY first had to be ESTABLISHED. It was AT HAND ready to be revealed or come on the day of Pentecost. 

In other words, Jesus is NOT speaking of his SECOND COMING where the disciples of his day would NOT DIE PHYSICALLY and therefore be alive at the SECOND COMING of Jesus.

But rather, the early disciples would not die PHYSICALLY until they saw Jesus coming in his KINGDOM speaking of the CHURCH AGE after the cross. 

And a further or more expanded interpretation is that Jesus is speaking of ALL disciples, then and now, NOT TASTING the STING of death and how this could NOT happen TILL they were PERCEIVING of UNDERSTANDING the coming kingdom WITHIN, referring to the CHURCH AGE that would come ONLYAFTER Jesus  SUFFERED and DIED on the cross FIRST.

This will all become clearer as you read the next two other meanings of verse 28, where all these meanings tie together.

The second meaning of this verse 28 is that Jesus is indeed speaking of his SECOND COMING, but NOT that some who were alive in his day would NOT DIE PHYSICALLY before they saw the Son of Man coming AGAIN at the END of the=is present age.

For you see, there are verbs used in every language that are verbs that grammar teachers call SUBJECTIVE verbs. A subjective verb has a CONDITION within the passage being spoken that must be met BEFORE the action of that verb will take place.

For example, if I were to say that “I will COME and take the trash out WHEN the trash can is FULL”, then you should understand that I am NOT going to COME and take the trash out TILL the trash can is FULL.

With this subjective verb in mind let us now take a close look at the LITERAL translation of verse 28. 

For you see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, there are times that the TRANSLATORS do not always translate the original text as accurately as they should have been translated.

The LITERAL translation of Matthew 16:28 says.

“Amen (Or truly) I am saying to you, are ANY of the ones here having stood WHO ANY not no should be tasting death till ever they may be perceiving the Son of the human coming in the kingdom of him?”

You can verify this LITERAL translation by clicking on the word LITERAL and then clicking on then LINK. This is a free online Interlinear literal translation of the Bible both Old and New Testament that I myself use.

The short and SIMPLE true understanding of this verse 28 is that Jesus is TEACHING his disciples that UNTIL they PERCEIVE or truly UNDERSTAND the coming KINGDOM of the Son of God that they will INDEED TASTE the STING of DEATH.

Keep in mind the words of Jesus to Nicodemus where Jesus is teaching him that he cannot SEE or UNDERSTAND the KINGDOM of heaven TILL we are BORN AGAIN. 

Then with that in mind remember the CONTEXT of Matthew 16:28, where TWO things are specifically being spoken.

#1. Jesus is telling his disciples that their Messiah MUST DIE and they are NOT receiving this revelation very well. 

They are not SEEING the coming kingdom, the CHURCH AGE. They are NOT UNDERSTANDING that their Messiah MUST SUFFER and DIE first to bring about this coming kingdom that is at hand. 

So Jesus is telling them in Matthew 16:28 basically saying to them WHO of you standing here is going to taste of death till WHOSOEVER of you or they NOT may be PERCEIVING the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

Now some may be wondering why I added the word “WHOSOEVER” to the LITERAL translation. The reason that I added the word whosoever is to add clarification like any good translator would do. You see, the translators use the word “EVER” rather than the word “WHOSOEVER”, but to me, the word “EVER” does not clarify the passage of scripture as well as the word “WHOSOEVER”.

In other words, the UNDERSTOOD SUBJECT of WHO of you or who of they, as in, till ever who of they shall perceive the kingdom of Jesus shall not taste death is NOT as clear to me as who is there of any man who will TASTE of death TILL WHOSOEVER NOT perceives the FIRST coming of Jesus in his kingdom.

The Greek word translated as “EVER” in the LITERAL translation and that is LEFT OUT all together in most other translations means “ever” as well as “WHOSOEVER”. 

The Greek word is “AN” and the Strong's number is 302. My Strong's concordance makes the statement that this word is DIFFICULT and NOT easy to translate and that this word indicates a CONDITION.

And it goes on to give its FIRST meaning as the word “WHOSOEVER”. If you are not quite following what I am saying keep reading, because it will all tie together when all the evidence is considered. Remember always to consider the WHOLE matter before you jump ship and SINK.

#2. Jesus is telling his disciples that they must LAY DOWN their own LIFE and follow him if so be that they are going to be able to perceive the KINGDOM of heaven coming.

In other words, Jesus is basically saying that to be a disciple of Jesus one must DIE to self, and if they do not die to self, then shall ANY who does not die to self and follow Jesus will taste of DEATH, as in, taste the sting of death? 

Basically, Jesus is telling his disciple to SHUT UP and LISTEN to the WHOLE matter saying get you behind me SATAN to Peter who was NOT BELIEVING the teaching of Jesus because it was NOT PLEASING to his ears.

Let me write this the way that we would say it now in our day rather than in Old English like most all translations have it written. 

Today we would say something like, There is not any here that shall NOT TASTE of death UNLESS they come to UNDERSTAND that the Messiah must bring in his kingdom by first SUFFERING and DYING on the cross, And UNTIL you SEE or UNDERSTAND the kingdom of the Son of man there is not one of you who shall NOT taste of death. 

Jesus used the words COMING in his KINGDOM because the kingdom of the Son of God had NOT YET COME and would NOT come UNTIL Jesus went to the CROSS.

Remember the words of Jesus saying if you do NOT believe that I am HE, then you shall DIE in your sins, meaning that ANY of WHOSOEVER is standing who does NOT believe that Jesus is the CHRIST, the SON OF the living God shall DIE in their sins. 

The disciples did indeed understand THAT ONE PART of the matter of Jesus being the promised Messiah. But they had NOT heard the WHOLE matter as yet, which was that the Messiah MUST SUFFER and DIE in order for the KINGDOM that WAS at hand to be ushered IN on the day of PENTECOST.

#3. And the third meaning of this verse 28 is speaking of believers IN Jesus not TASTING the STING of death when they DIE.

I believe that the context agrees with the rest of Scripture which teaches we all die “spiritually” when we sin.

And to be made alive spiritually, we must taste the death of dying daily to sin, the crucifying our self to live righteously obeying the Holy Spirit. 

So then, it is a matter of how one defines the phrase, “Taste of Death”,

For further explanation, this verse can also mean as well that believers will “taste of death” in the way of being placed back into their resurrected bodies right before their CHANGE to their new immortal bodies takes place. 

In other words, all believers in Jesus pass from death to life the very moment that they die physically and their soul and spirit go to be present with the Lord to WAIT for their BODILY resurrection AT the SECOND COMING of Jesus.

 It is AT the SECOND coming of Jesus that the DEAD in Jesus Christ actually TASTE of death being reunited with their resurrected old physical body that will be CHANGED in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye to becoming an IMMORTAL BODY of FLESH and BONES just like Jesus has NOW.

You see, the WHOLE word of TRUTH teaches us that the graves will open and their dead bodies will come forth out of the graves and God will put bone together with bone and cause FLESH to come back on their bones and then their FLESH and BONE BODIES will be CHANGED in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye to becoming IMMORTAL FLESH and BONE BODIES just like Jesus has NOW up in heaven seated at the right hand of his God and Father.

First, we will read in Ezekiel that teaches us of a BODILY resurrection, and then we will come back to Luke chapter 24 where we are clearly taught that Jesus was raised from the dead and then GIVEN a FLESH and BONE immortal BODY never more to die.

Please read Ezekiel 37:1-14, which clearly teaches us that ALL things are POSSIBLE with Almighty God who created us by his SPOKEN WORD.

Ezekiel 37:1-14.

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

Ezekiel 37:2. And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. (In other words, there were VERY MANY very dry bones covering the land all around not being connected together as a complete skeleton, but rather all mixed up seeming impossible for MAN to arrange them together not knowing what bone belongs to what skeleton)

Ezekiel 37:3. And he said unto me, Son of man, CAN these bones LIVE? (Some preterists say NO! And dogmatically demand that there is NOT going to be a BODILY resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. BUT what does the word of TRUTH teach us?) And I answered, O Lord GOD, YOU KNOW.

Ezekiel 37:4. Again he (Almighty God) said unto me, PROPHESY upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:5. Thus says the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I (Almighty God your creator) will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall LIVE:

Ezekiel 37:6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up FLESH upon you, and cover you with SKIN, and put BREATH in you, and you shall LIVE, and you shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:7. So I PROPHESIED as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. (Ezekiel was seeing a VISION of the YET COMING BODILY RESURRECTION of the dead, but more specifically the RIGHTEOUS dead or God's people who were slain for their testimony of Jesus and the word of God)

Ezekiel 37:8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the FLESH came up upon them, and the SKIN covered them above: but there was NO breath in them.

Ezekiel 37:9. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these, SLAIN, that they may LIVE.

Ezekiel 37:10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the BREATH came into them, and they LIVED, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Ezekiel 37:11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the WHOLE house of Israel: (Speaking of the Christians and the Jews being made ONE people) behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. (Our HOPE is the SECOND COMING of Jesus and our reward of ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come, and the HOPE of the Jews is the COMING of their MESSIAH to RESCUE them from being completely destroyed by their ENEMY the Islamic Muslim armies who are seeking to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth)

Ezekiel 37:12. Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. (Again, our hope is our BODILY resurrection so we can have peace KNOWING that whether we remain alive until the COMING of Jesus or we DIE we KNOW that we shall LIVE and reign with Jesus and forever be with the Lord. 

And the HOPE of the Jews is the WORD of God assuring them that they will be resurrected and LIVE again. Now it is not clear to me if the Jews will be resurrected before the literal 1000 year reign of Jesus to go into the 1000 year reign of Jesus in their MORTAL bodies to be taught of the Lord.

Or if the Jews will be resurrected AFTER the 1000 years have expired where the REST of the dead are resurrected in order to be judged according to their works. 

The NEW Testament seems pretty clear that ONLY the dead IN Jesus Christ will take part in the FIRST resurrection, but it also appears from this and other verses that the Jews will be resurrected as well to go into the 1000 year reign of Jesus in their MORTAL bodies having a life span of 100 years)

Ezekiel 37:13. And you shall know that I am the LORD when I have OPENED your GRAVES, O my people, and brought you UP OUT of your GRAVES,

Ezekiel 37:14. And shall put my SPIRIT in you, and you shall LIVE, AND I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.”

Now pre-tribulation prophecy teachers use this passage of Scripture to teach ONLY that it means the RESTORATION of the Jews to their land of Israel

But in TRUTH, this passage of Scripture is speaking of our LITERAL BODILY RESURRECTION. I do however see how some can INTERPRET this last verse to mean that the Jews, the people of God who were scattered all over the world will be brought back to their homeland Israel, which was FULFILLED in 1948.

But just like the preterist who dogmatically demand a SINGLE one-time fulfillment of Matthew 24 to mean that ALL was fulfilled in 70 AD, there may be the danger that some FUTURISTS might also be DECEIVED and start dogmatically demanding that since they teach that this verse was FULFILLED in 1948 then this verse cannot possibly mean anything other than the RESTORATION of Israel as a nation in 1948.

The truth of the matter is that many verses in the Bible have MORE than just ONE meaning and MORE than just ONE fulfillment. 

We will cover some of the more simple easy to see passages where SOME of the prophecies are fulfilled in history, but yet, there still REMAINS the REST of that prophecy to BE fulfilled in the FUTURE.

For now, I want to go back to the New Testament in Luke chapter 24 to show you that Jesus HIMSELF was indeed raised from the dead with his BODY and then Jesus ASCENDED into heaven to his God and Father where Jesus was GIVEN a NEW GLORIFIED IMMORTAL BODY of FLESH and BONE never more to die. 

And then Jesus DESCENDED back down to the Earth and appeared to his disciples for forty days showing them that he was indeed resurrected from the dead never more to die by many INFALLIBLE PROOFS just as the Bible itself says.

We will cover Luke chapter 24 in  “PRETERISM, TRUE OF FALSE? - Part 3” along with several other verses of Scripture that show us beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are NOT living in the LITERAL 1000 year reign of Jesus which has incorrectly been interpreted to be a so-called unspecified number of years by preterist Christians. 

So if you are a Preterist Christian or any Christians who is truly seeking the truth of the whole word of God then I implore you to continue reading this study to the end. And if you have not read part 1 of this study then please click on this link,  “PRETERISM, TRUE OF FALSE? - Part 1”