Introduction

Futurist interpreters often cite 1 John 2:28–29 as evidence for a still-future bodily return of Christ:

"And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." (1 John 2:28-29 NKJV)

When reading the verse in isolation from the passage and letter it sits in, the words “appears” and “coming” seem to refer to an event yet unfulfilled. However, when the verse is read in its literary, linguistic, and historical context, it harmonizes completely with the preterist understanding of a first-century fulfillment, the revelation of Christ’s authority and judgment upon the old covenant world.

Literary Context: The “Last Hour” Already Present

Just ten verses earlier, John defines the timeframe of his letter:

"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18 NKJV)

John does not predict a distant end, he announces an ongoing one. The proliferation of antichrists confirms that the final hour of the old covenant order had already begun. Therefore we can safely argue that “appearing” and “coming” of verse 28, occur within the same timeframe of the earlier mention of the “last hour”.

The Meaning of “Appearing” and “Coming” in Context

The strength of John’s statement lies in the placement of these terms within the flow of the letter. The words translated “appears” and “coming” describe themes common throughout Johannine writing, Christ’s manifestation and presence in judgment and vindication. What matters is not the mechanics of how He appears, but the moment in which He does so, the “last hour” already unfolding in their generation (1 John 2:18).

John’s concern is pastoral. He urges believers to remain faithful so that when Christ’s authority is revealed, they will stand confident, not ashamed. The text points to an event within the lifetime of its first readers, not a distant physical return centuries away.

Historical Context: The Nearness of Judgment

Looking at the internal evidence, John’s audience lived in the turbulent decade preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This crisis marked the end of the temple-centered covenant and vindicated Jesus’ prophecies concerning that generation (Matt 24:34). The internal indicators of 1 John suggest that John wrote while the covenantal crisis of the first century was still unfolding, before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, similarly to the overwhelming majority of the letters in the New Testament. His language of the “last hour” and the activity of many antichrists make perfect sense within that setting.

John’s exhortation to “abide in Him” was a call to perseverance through this transitional period. Those who remained faithful would “have confidence” when Christ’s authority was revealed in judgment, while those who defected to the antichrists would “be ashamed at His appearing.” Thus, 1 John 2:28–29 fits the pastoral aim of strengthening believers who stood on the threshold of covenantal transformation.

Consistency Across Johannine Writings

Across John’s writings, the same expectation of nearness is expressed with remarkable clarity.

In John 21:22, Jesus tells Peter, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” (speaking of John himself, the “disciple whom Jesus loved”). The statement only carries weight if Christ’s coming was expected within the lifetime of some of those present. A coming delayed for millennia would make the remark meaningless to the disciples hearing it.

In 1 John 4:17, John writes,

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." 

The “day of judgment” is a reality for which they were already preparing and expected to face with confidence rather than a postponed and distant event.

In Revelation 1:1, written to the same early believers, John opens with the statement that these are “things which must shortly take place.” The phrase defines the whole vision as near in fulfillment, not remote. The dating of the book of Revelation is a topic we’ve discussed in another article you can find here.

The same language of nearness, readiness, and imminence runs through all Johannine texts. None of them anticipate a postponed event thousands of years away, but rather the unfolding of Christ’s vindication and judgment within the world and generation of their own time.

Theological Implications

1 John 2:28–29 presents Christ’s appearing as the unveiling of His righteousness and rule.
It distinguishes the true “children of God” (2:29–3:1),those who practice righteousness, from the apostates who denied Him.

 "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." (1 John 2:29 NKJV)

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1 NKJV)

In preterist understanding, the “appearing” was Christ’s vindication as the faithful Son and Judge when the old system that rejected Him was brought to an end. The faithful were not awaiting the destruction of the cosmos but the transition of covenants, revealing the new creation community born of God.

This realization uncovers the theological irony of the futurist view, what futurists take as awaiting literal fulfillment in their own generation, is in fact to be taken literally in the generation of the readers of the letter, since indeed, believing in God’s promise of vindication and judgment materialized in his coming exactly and literally as described by Jesus in the Olivet discourse. Yet futurists refuse to reconcile with this truth.

Conclusion

1 John 2:28–29, often cited against preterism, in fact reinforces it. The letter itself locates its readers in “the last hour.” The vocabulary of appearing and coming denotes revelation and presence, not physical descent. And the historical circumstances of the first century fit the exhortation perfectly.

John’s concern was that believers remain steadfast so that, when Christ’s authority was revealed in judgment, they would stand confident rather than ashamed. This same pastoral note runs through Paul’s writings, where he urges believers not to lose heart in the face of opposition and weariness. In the letter to the Galatians he exhorts:

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9 NKJV)

Paul and John both write from within the same eschatological moment, calling their readers to perseverance as the old order approached its end. Their message is not speculative but practical: remain faithful, keep doing good, and stand firm as the reality of Christ’s kingdom is revealed.

The same text that once seemed to oppose preterism becomes, when read on its own terms, one of its clearest confirmations.