Did the Apostle John Teach a Future Second Coming after AD 70?

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According to church tradition the Apostle John lived long past AD 70. It’s impossible to know for certain if John taught a future Parousia after AD 70. The best evidence we have of what John believed or taught is found in the Seven Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch and the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians as both Ignatuis and Polycarp are believed to have been disciples of John the Apostle.

Both Ignatius’ and Polycarp’s writings include some elements that could be assumed by futurists to imply that John believed in a future Parousia. However, it’s important to realize that Ignatius became patriarch of Antioch (Syria) from AD 68-107. If Ignatius became the patriarch of a major Church in Syria in AD 68 this implies that any discipleship by John likely occurred prior to AD 68. We don’t have any good, direct evidence of any interaction between Ignatius and John after AD 70 as Ignatius was a minister in Syria and John seems to have ministered in western Asia Minor as evidenced by the letters to the seven Churches at the introduction of Revelation. We do not have any evidence of John interacting with Ignatius or ministering in Syria where Ignatius was pastoring his church after AD 70. It should be noted, however, that Ignatius wrote to various churches including a letter to Ephesus, a city also addressed by John in the Book of Revelation. Likewise, Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna, another church addressed by John in Revelation. Therefore, if John lived beyond AD 70 it would seem likely that Ignatius and Polycarp likely had at least some interaction with John after AD 70.

The Epistle of Ignatius to Ephesus, a church that John also wrote to in Revelation, includes an ambiguous statement: “The last times are come upon us. . . . For let us either stand in awe of the wrath to come…” (Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 11.) What does “are come upon us” mean? Was “the last times” in the past, present, or future? The grammar is unclear. Perhaps the eschaton is believed to be in the future by the following sentence which mentions “the wrath to come”? Although this is good evidence that Ignatius believed in a future eschaton beyond AD 70, it is not proof. Recall Ignatius was patriarch of Antioch. Antioch is, I believe, “the city God loves” that is besieged by Gog/Magog in Revelation 20 at the end of the Millenium. This is, I believe, fulfilled in the siege of Antioch in the First Crusade which was clearly in Ignatius’ future (See the commentary on Revelation 20).

The Epistle of Ignatius also mentions “the prince of this world” as if Satan was still active and in power and thus not already cast out of heaven as he is expected to be at the eschaton (Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 17).

There is an interesting verse in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians: “[H]ow shall we be able to live apart from Him [Jesus], whose disciples the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead.” (Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 9.) Notice that at least the first resurrection of Revelation 20:4 had already past at the time this Epistle was written. Polycarp also implies a past resurrection of the saints: “[This do] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered.” (Epistle of Polycarp 9:2.) Then in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians, Ignatius mentions a future resurrection for the then-living saints: “His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life.” (Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians 9.) Polycarp echoes Ignatius by affirming a future resurrection of the saints: “But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also[.]” (Epistle of Polycarp 2:2.) “If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, ‘we shall also reign together with Him[.]” ((Epistle of Polycarp 5:2.) In context it seems that the “future world” referred to above is the realm in which the saints are resurrected (i.e. heaven). We see this idea also implied in the Prayer of the Anaphora-Eucharistic Prayer: “You brought us forth from non-existence into being, and raised us up again when we had fallen, and left nothing undone until you had brought us to heaven your future kingdom.” Notice that heaven is the “future kingdom” and it is linked to the resurrection which is stated in the present tense. This is consistent with the Preterist view promoted on this website where the departed saints were raised after death immediately after Jesus’ resurrection up to and beyond the GWTJ. Ignatius’ statements quoted above align with these ideas.

In the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Polycarp says, “He [Jesus] comes as Judge of the living and the dead.” (Epistle of Polycarp 2:1.) It is interesting that Polycarp uses the present tense here rather than the future. Polycarp also teaches that everyone is judged and that the saints will judge the world: “[W]e ought also ourselves to forgive, for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and ‘we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and everyone must give an account of himself.” (Epistle of Polycarp 6:2.) “’But who of us are ignorant of the judgment of the Lord? “Do we not know that the saints shall judge the world?” as Paul teaches.’” Perhaps everyone is judged after death after AD 70 echoing the life review people often report in NDE’s? Or perhaps because Polycarp is quoting Scripture here he is misapplying this judgment to the future when this judgment only ever referred to the GWTJ which began in AD 70?

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