All Preterist insist the “beast” and His army is the Roman Empire and that is the “coming” of God in judgment on Jerusalem. From history we understand Titus surrounded Jerusalem in 68 AD and eventually destroyed and burned it to the ground.
In Revelation19 we have the description of what “God’ says will happen as they interpret this as the judgment that comes. All Preterist claim Chapters 17-18 are about the fall of Jerusalem which they call the “Babylon”. Not arguing this point of interpretation what we have in 19 is this;
“11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war… And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty… 19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet” Rev 19
So the problem is this; The Roman army is sent to destroy Jerusalem by God but before that can happen, Christ returns, as the army of the beast gathers to fight Him who is on the white horse, (which implies they “saw” Him return) Christ by the words of command destroys the armies of the beast and the beast is thrown into the Lake of Fire.
If the Roma army was sent by God to judge Jerusalem why would God then send Jesus to return and destroy the army before it can destroy Jerusalem?
Zech 12, “6“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.
7“And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Mourning leads to repentance, “in this way all of Israel will be saved”. Romans 11
Zechariah is speaking of His second coming!
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