Editing Great Tribulation (section)

===Preterism===
In the [[Preterist]] view, the Tribulation took place in the past when [[Roman legions]] [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70]] during the end stages of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], and it only affected the [[Jewish]] people rather than all mankind.

Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised [[Messiah]]. It occurred entirely in the past, around AD 70 when the armed forces of the [[Roman Empire]] destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.

A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the [[Apocalypse]] or Book of Revelation. (Preterists apply much of the symbolism in the Revelation to Rome, the [[Caesar (title)|Cæsars]], and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.)

Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:34 that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled"<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|24:34}}</ref> is tied back to his similar warning to the [[Scribes]] and the [[Pharisees]] that their judgment would "come upon this generation",<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|23:36}}</ref> that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the Scribes and Pharisees had died. The destruction in AD 70 occurred within a 40-year generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse.

The judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet."<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|24:15}}</ref>

Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the [[Jerusalem]] Temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built.  The prophecies were all fulfilled on the then-existing temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation.