The harvest and judgment is at the end of the age (that being represented of this temporal world, those in bondage to flesh (See Gal. 4), those found worthy enter the age to come (non-temporal, non historic, non external). Notice this passage speaks of the coming of the Son of man tied to a judgment of "every man" and judges based on their works. Thus Jesus is speaking of a judgment of a unbelieving generation (the tares) and also speaking of a faithful generation (the wheat) being judged at the time of harvest. The harvest, coming, and judgment is multigenerational and not temporal in nature. Preterists falsely point this to a single generation where as I point it to every generation, and a judgment of the heart of every man. Only those who are found faithful are allowed to enter in to the heavenly land which was promised as demonstrated by the exodus when they crossed the Jordan (New Heavens and Earth which is not a post 70ad period, but represents being born again from earthly to heavenly). Those who are not found faithful die in the wilderness (present heavens and earth, those who are dead, unregenerate).
I am not really not sure how Preterist can assume a judgment of "every man" finds its focal point in 70ad, since "every man" goes through judgment, "every man" is also part of the harvest, and men continue to be transferred in Christ from old things to new things (2 Corinthians 5:17). To assume this old to new occurs in history in 70ad is a huge assumption that is not biblical. This reveals the letter based focus of Preterism, and shows their appeal to make spiritual things temporal in nature subject to time.
Don Preston
Matthew 16:27: Jesus said he would come in the glory of his father, with his angels, to judge every man. The normal response to this is that it "obviously" must be speaking of the end of time. "Jesus has not come and judged every man has he?" we are asked. To answer this we must see that Jesus did in fact predict not only the fact of judgment of all but he said it would happen in his generation.
In Matthew 23:29ff Jesus said that all the dead all the way back to creation would be judged in that generation. In Matthew 13 he spoke of the end of the age when the righteous would shine like the stars. The wicked would be condemned at that time also. Daniel 12:1-7, the prophecy upon which Jesus' words are based, tells us it would be fulfilled "when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered."
Peter tells us that Jesus was "ready to judge the living and the dead" when he wrote 1 Peter 4:5; and Revelation 11 tells us that the time had come for the judgment of the living and the dead.
Finally, in Revelation 21:12 Jesus quoted the very words he had uttered some thirty years earlier: "Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me to reward every man according to his work." Now unless Revelation is speaking of a different "judgment of all" from the "judgment of all" in Matthew we must believe the subject to be the same. Revelation, no less than five times tells us the events under view are imminent. Matthew 16:27-28 has a certain time-frame limit, i.e., "some standing here shall not die till they see the Son of Man coming...." Matthew speaks of the coming of Jesus to judge every man. Revelation does also. Matthew says Jesus would come in that generation. Revelation says he was coming quickly. Where is the delineation between the two?
What we see then is a pattern of consistency. From Jesus' words in Matthew 16:27 until his words in Revelation there is the prediction of judgment of all. And this is always set in a time-frame of imminency.
