There has been a prophetic teaching circulating in some streams of the church that states that Jesus could have returned in the first century but chose to delay because of the state of the church. This article will examine this prophetic teaching to see if it aligns with the scriptures.
Time of the End
““But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”” (Daniel 12:4 NKJV)
Daniel the prophet is told that the time of the end (or the end of Satan’s reign or man’s reign upon the earth) will be characterized by knowledge increasing. During the first century, knowledge was not increasing or expanding at any notable rate. It was a relatively dark time in the history of the world in which men did not understand much and knowledge was not allowed to be given to the masses.
A period known as the “Information Age” began in the early 1980s with the introduction of personal computers in 1981 and the rise of the internet. Over the last 25 years, knowledge has increased exponentially. People have almost unlimited access to knowledge through computers, the internet, and artificial intelligence. A multiplication of knowledge has occurred since the dawn of the 21st century that could have never happened without technology advancing to the level that it has. AI is now advancing the distribution of knowledge more rapidly than at any time in human history.
The fact that we are the generation that has experienced the prophesied increase of knowledge places us at “the time of the end” on the Biblical clock. Clearly the first century didn’t come close to fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 12:4, and therefore the first century could not have fit the description of being the time period of the end, which would usher in the second coming of Christ.
Book of Revelation—Written Around 92 A.D.
The prophetic teaching that Jesus could have returned in the first century is a hard pill to swallow when we use Holy Spirit logic and consider when the book of Revelation was written and distributed to the church. Early Christian writers such as Irenaeus, Eusebius, and Tertullian report that John was exiled during a time of persecution under Domitian (who ruled 81 to 96 AD). The traditional and most widely accepted view is that John was exiled during Domitian’s reign and returned after Domitian’s death in 96 AD, during Emperor Nerva’s more tolerant rule.
Since John was imprisoned on the island, the book of Revelation may have remained with him until he was released from Patmos in 96 A.D. It would have taken at least a month or two to be transcribed and distributed to the seven churches. This timeline would put the church dangerously close to the second century and not give them time to repent or prepare.
The Lord’s purpose of rebuking the churches (in that time period) was to give them a chance to repent so that He would not have to judge them. The Lord is long-suffering and merciful and gives time to repent. Another major purpose of revealing that information was to prepare the church for what was coming. Leaders would need time to read, pray, and teach the revelation of Jesus Christ to the church, which they would not have been able to do in a few short years.
It’s obvious that the events in Revelation take place over a period of years and culminate with a final great tribulation of three and a half years. It seems very unlikely all of these prophesied events could have been crammed into a few short years at the end of the first century when the church didn't even have time to repent and prepare.
Are those who believe this doctrine implying that the book of Revelation was never meant to be written? That is a whole different subject that is quite dangerous to teach or believe. This type of reasoning leads down a deceptive path.
The Seventh King and Kingdom
“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.” (Revelation 17:9-13 NKJV)
John is told that the final world ruler will be the beast or the antichrist. He will be the seventh and the eighth king who has a global kingdom. There will be ten powerful leaders of various nations who give the beast their nations to rule (the antichrist will subdue three of them as Daniel prophesies). Clearly, during the time this revelation was given to John, the sixth king was in power, ruling the sixth kingdom or mountain (mountains represent kingdoms in scripture). That was the king of Rome who ruled the Roman Empire.
John was told that the seventh kingdom and beast would be a different ruler and a kingdom altogether. Therefore, it would be impossible for Christ to return in the time of the sixth king and sixth kingdom. Rome and the kings of Rome did not lose their status as “world rulers” until around 476 AD. The Roman Empire lost its status as the preeminent force of the Western world in this year and showed that the sixth kingdom or mountain was on the decline.
Jesus could not have returned prior to that point based on the prophecies given in Revelation chapter 17. He would (by His own word and will) wait until the time of the seventh and eighth king and kingdom. The Father had a predetermined time when He knew HIs church would be ready, and it was not during the sixth king and kingdom.
Nero—The Antichrist
I have heard the argument that the Father could have used Nero to be the antichrist and had Jesus return in the first century. This line of reasoning does not make sense, as Nero died in 68 AD. The book of Revelation wasn’t written until after 90 AD. Paul wrote his final epistles around 66 AD and then died around 66-67 AD. This narrative doesn’t give the necessary events time to unfold and simply does not fit.
The Two Witnesses
“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations, people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.” (Revelation 11:7-9 WEBUS)
The above scripture could not have been fulfilled in the first century. How would all these different people groups from all these different nations see the dead bodies of the two prophets lying in a street in Jerusalem during the first century or second century? The nations wouldn’t have even known what was happening in Jerusalem. Only in our day is the technology available to broadcast the death and resurrection of the two witnesses to the entire world.
The False Prophet
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13:11-17 NKJV)
The false prophet will work alongside the antichrist and demonstrate miracles to draw worship to the beast. In human history, we have not witnessed a man who fit the description of the false prophet walking beside a world ruler and performing great signs and wonders like calling down fire from the heavens. This ministry will have to be in place at the exact same time as the antichrist and it never has been, indicating that the kingdom of the antichrist could not have occurred in the past.
In the first century, it would not have been possible for the false prophet to make the image of the beast speak (apart from supernatural satanic power). In the 21st century, it is possible to make images move and speak with technology (robots and AI). In the first century, only a relatively small portion of people would ever have seen an image that spoke in a certain location. In our time, through technology, it’s possible for the entire world to see the image of the beast speak.
It would have been nearly impossible to institute a mark of the beast in the first century. People were primarily farmers and hunter/gatherers. Many people did not need to buy or sell in markets. They simply could have traded with one another and survived without taking a mark. Today, most everyone has to go to the store to buy food. Our generation is almost entirely dependent on buying and selling in the marketplace, in which many people would need to take a mark to physically survive.
In the 21st century, the technology is present to create a global system of control through surveillance and digital monetary systems. Governments can stop people from buying and selling and track people anywhere they might try and go. Only in this time has technology advanced to the point where the antichrist could institute a mark and control entire nations with an iron fist. It was simply impossible to do in other time periods that lacked technology.
Conclusion
This article was written to address this teaching and also to demonstrate how to use scripture to test prophetic revelations.
-Ty Unruh (May 2025)
