What is your take on the 70 AD doctrine going around? Sincerely,
A Concerned Saint

Dear A Concerned Saint,

The 70 AD doctrine, also known as ‘Realized Eschatology’, is total rubbish and an endangerment to the salvation of all who follow and teach it.  Realized Eschatology (the preferred title used by this doctrine’s followers) is a very scary teaching.  ‘Eschatology’ means ‘the study of the end things’, and ‘realized’ means ‘completed or fulfilled’.  In short, Realized Eschatology teaches that every prophecy in the Bible has already been fulfilled.  Realized Eschatologists teach that every verse that is commonly thought to refer to the end of the world, heaven, hell, the Judgment Day, the future return of Christ, etc. already occurred in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed.  This is not only false, it is absurd.  If they are right, there is no hell, there is no Judgment Day, the devil has already been destroyed, and there is no specific hope for those who call on Christ.  In short, we would have to totally rewrite everything we believe and teach concerning the Word of God.  Not long ago, we preached two sermons on this topic (the audio and video can be found here).  That series will explain in more detail the problems with this false doctrine that is upsetting the faith of some in the church (2 Tim 2:18).   SB