REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY? NO, NOT COMPLETELY
From the first breath of Genesis to the last word of Revelation, Scripture sings of a story both fulfilled and unfolding—the triumph of Christ already begun, yet not yet complete. The cross was not the conclusion of God’s plan, but its turning point. The kingdom has come, but it has not yet reached its full harvest. The promises are planted. The fruit is still ripening. Redemption’s work has entered history, yet history itself still waits for the final restoration. The fire of judgment has already fallen upon Jerusalem, just as Jesus foretold, but the story of His glory is not confined to the first century. “Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). The gospel invites us to live in the tension of the “already” and the “not yet.” To rejoice in what God has finished and to yearn for what He has promised still to do.
The Lord did come in judgment upon that generation. Every word He spoke concerning the temple and the city came to pass. “This generation will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled” (Matthew 24:34). The smoke of Jerusalem’s fall bore witness that His words were true. The old covenant age was brought to its close, and the new creation dawned in the risen Christ. But though that day fulfilled prophecy, it did not exhaust hope. It proved that His word cannot fail, and therefore it assures us of the greater return still to come. The same Jesus who came in judgment upon Israel will come again in glory for His church. “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw Him go” (Acts 1:11).
The resurrection of Christ was the down payment of what is yet to be revealed. “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). His rising was not the end of the story, but the beginning of the harvest. Our own resurrection still lies ahead. The new life we taste now in the Spirit is the first breeze of an everlasting spring. “He will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). Death has been defeated, but it has not yet been destroyed. The grave has lost its claim, but not yet its presence. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). The believer stands between two resurrections—one already accomplished in the heart and one yet to come in the body (John 5:25, 28).
The judgment of A.D. 70 was a shadow of the greater judgment yet to come. The fall of Jerusalem was a trumpet of warning to the nations. But the Bible still points beyond it to the final day when “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus said, “The Son of Man will come in His glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him” (Matthew 25:31–32). The Judge stands at the door even now (James 5:9). He delays in mercy, calling the nations to repentance before that great and terrible day. What fell upon one city will one day confront the whole earth, and the only safe refuge will be found in Him who bore our judgment on the cross.
The early church lived with this balanced hope. They saw prophecy fulfilled in their own generation, yet their hearts burned for what was still to come. They knew the kingdom had arrived in power, yet they prayed, “Thy kingdom come.” They rejoiced in the Spirit’s presence, yet they cried, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Their hope was not nostalgia for a past visitation but longing for the final revelation. “The creation itself waits with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). The already fulfilled promises are not the end of expectation but the foundation of it.
If we forget that, we lose the sweetness of hope. “We look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Hope is the anchor that keeps us steady between fulfillment and fulfillment (Hebrews 6:19). The kingdom has come, yet it is still coming. The reign of Christ is real, yet the world still groans. The new creation has begun, yet the old one has not yet vanished away. The Christian life lives in this holy tension, where gratitude and anticipation meet.
So let us hold both truths with faith and love. Christ has come, and Christ will come again. The covenant promises have been fulfilled, and they are still unfolding. The same hands that once bore our sins will one day wipe away our tears (Revelation 21:4). The same voice that said, “It is finished,” will yet declare, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Until that hour, we stand between two dawns—grateful for the light that has already risen, and longing for the day when the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
