Posted on 04/10/2024 5:22:37 PM PDT by grumpa
With a measure of teeth gnashing, and years of study—I became convinced that the preterist view of eschatology is the correct one. Here are some reasons why.
1. I could no longer ignore, in good conscience, the over 100 time-statements in the New Testament that limit fulfillment of the prophesied events to the lifetimes of the New Testament writers. (There really are over 100 of them.) Preterism 101
2. I looked up every mention in the New Testament of the “last days,” “end,” or “end times” and found that all 19 such mentions are consistent. Without exception, the writers of the New Testament wrote that THEY were living in the last days. So, unless they were false teachers, the last days had to be the end of the old covenant world―not the end of the physical universe. While the new covenant began at the cross, the old covenant ended in finality in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed (Hebrews 8:13).
3. I realized that I was ignorant about what happened in Jerusalem in AD 70―and the theological significance of these events, especially surrounding the destruction of the temple and the sacrificial and priestly systems.
4. I heard some Christians, including pastors, say that “The disciples expected Jesus to return in their lifetimes, but they were simply wrong.” Knowing that the disciples got their views from Jesus himself, and believing in the inerrancy of the Bible, I cannot accept that they were wrong. But it was either they were wrong, or else Christians have misunderstood what the writers meant by Jesus’ Parousia. At least some of the passages about the timing of the Second Coming must have been about Jesus “coming in judgment” against apostate old covenant Israel in AD 70, much like YHWH “came in judgment” against nations in the Old Testament―as preterists teach. That answers the skeptics who said Jesus was a false teacher.
5. I realized that if Jesus and his disciples were wrong about the timing of fulfillment of the prophetic events, the charges against Christianity concerning Jesus being a false teacher would be true. The preterist view is the only one that answers the critics’ charges. Jesus kept his word. He was not a false prophet. There is no need to make excuses for Him or gloss over passages that don’t fit your presuppositions from the echo-chamber.
6. I was interested to discover that Jesus, as well as his disciples, stated that virtually all OLD TESTAMENT prophecy would be completed in their literal generation—that is, the first century (Luke 21:22; Acts 3:24).
7. It became excruciatingly clear that many high-profile preachers, especially dispensationalists, have made glaringly false predictions about the rapture, Second Coming, and the end of the world. These charlatans (yes, that’s a strong but deserved charge) include Hal Lindsey, Edgar Whisenant, Benny Hinn, Grant Jeffrey, Jerry Falwell, John Walvoord, Harold Camping, Perry Stone, etc., etc. These men added to false predictions by Christians for 2000 years, making a continuous mockery of Christianity. Something has been very wrong about prophecy. False Prophets
8. I noticed that Christians tend to interpret the Bible through the lens of the daily news events (“newspaper eschatology”)—and have accordingly been making false and embarrassing predictions about the end of the world for 2,000 years. The preterist view restores credibility to Christianity. If they would be reading through the lens of the original audience instead, they would get a different picture.
9. I have heard Christians argue that language such as “moon turning to blood,” “coming on clouds,” “make the heavens tremble,” etc. should be understood literally. I was always skeptical about literalizing these phrases, and my closer investigation revealed that my skepticism was warranted. Such phrases are typical non-literal Hebraic apocalyptic language to describe God’s intervention (usually judgment) on nations in history. Apocalyptic Language
10. I learned that over 130 competent scholars have been identified as teaching that Revelation was written prior to AD 70, and that Revelation is mostly about the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple during the Jewish-Roman War of AD 66-70. Recommended book: Before Jerusalem Fell by Kenneth Gentry.
11. I discovered that there are over 30 passages in Revelation that (a) demand fulfillment soon after being penned, and (b) Revelation does not introduce new concepts, but rather connects the events described there with the same ones mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. Revelation Theme
12. I noticed that objections to preterism are shallow, disjointed, biased, arbitrary, and inconsistent. Objectors are willfully blind about key passages and mostly regurgitate things they have heard from people who have not really studied the issue either. I particularly noticed that my preterist posts on Christian websites were mostly answered with anger and snark, with very little actual substantive biblical exegesis. I find this quite telling.
13. Bible teachers to whom I had been listening could not give meaningful answers to my challenging questions about prophecy. Worse, they seemed less interested in truth, and more interested in defending a presumptive position. I wanted to follow the Shepherd, not the sheep. I wanted to defend God’s Word, not an institution or creed.
14. I was really surprised at how professing conservative Christians take such pains to explain away the obvious in the Bible. They can twist Scripture and think they are doing the Bible a favor. For example, Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, THIS GENERATION will not pass away until all these things take place.” We can be sure that “this generation” means the generation to whom Jesus was speaking (and not some distant generation). Why? Because every other mention of “this generation” in the New Testament is clearly about the first-century generation. Study more about Scripture Twisting in this article:
(Share this with your friends to start a good discussion about eschatology!)
On a scale of eternity, the last million years prior to the Second Coming can still be called the last days because it is still a short period when you are measuring eternity.
Fair enough but 7 is not an argument and 13 contradicts his 7.
Inn7 he’s trying to argue something based upon others being wrong or being charlatans. That’s not an argument for anything and is irrelevant for his argument.
In 13 he says he wants to follow the shepherd, not the sheep. That’s right, but 7 is doing just that in an inverse manner - going the opposite direction of sheep.
He should take out 7 as it’s not an argument and undercuts his 13.
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Then post them.
Here’s a discussion about eschatology: We’ll find out when the time comes. So chill.
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Explain this one through your lens of "understanding".
excerpt from my book re Revelation:
We will not attempt to cover every detail of Revelation. There are some 300 references in Revelation to the Old Testament, and the book ties everywhere to other parts of the New Testament. But we do want to get a solid understanding of the big picture. We will present some of the important time-reference texts for the reader’s consideration. We will also attempt to identify the major themes of the book.
Some two dozen passages in the book of Revelation tie the date
of the events of Revelation to first-century Israel, either (a) by specific 142 Christian Hope through Fulfilled Prophecy
time-reference, (b) by correlating to other texts that are limited by a time-reference (some of which we have studied in previous chapters), (c) by pointing specifically to Jerusalem or the nation of Israel, or (d) by being confirmed by actual historical accounts of first-century Jerusalem as the place and time of the apocalypse. Here is a list of such passages:
Revelation 1:1; 1:3; 1:7; 1:9-10; 1:19; 2:10; 2:16; 2:25; 3:10; 3:11; 4:1; 6:12-17; 8:13; 10:6-7; 11:2; 11:8; 11:15-19; 12:5; 14:7; 14:14-20; 15:5-8; 16:6; 16:19; 17:8; 18:19, 24; 20:7-10; 20:11-15; 22:6; 22:7; 22:10; 22:12; 22:20.
If the reader takes the time to look up each of these passages he will
note familiar language that we have already discussed. The passages
in bold specifically say that the events in view, including the Second Coming, were to happen soon or were near or were going to take place without delay (“must shortly take place.”). In addition, certain of these passages (1:19; 3:10; 8:13; 10:7; 12:5; 17:8) contain the Greek word mello,
which, as we have already noted, is translated in Young’s Literal Translation and in interlinear translations as “about to” (happen). These timetexts are definitive, and they are noteworthy by being consistent with the imminency passages in the rest of the New Testament. We strongly suggest that any eschatology that denies a plain literal interpretation
of the New Testament time-texts, has adopted an overly elastic and, frankly, unscriptural position that damages the Bible’s integrity.
Some interpreters believe that Revelation is to be divided into sections, some to near events and some to distant events. But we see imminency language and other references that tie to first-century Israel at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the book. Riley O’Brien Powell, on her website, comments:
The letter of Revelation itself says nothing about a shift in audience or subject matter. It says nothing about a delay in timing or a change in intended audience. EVER.. . .
Why is there still sin? Jesus said death will be thrown into the lake of fire. He also said he would wipe away every tear? When did this happen?
You’re saying the biggest anticipated event in all of human history....the Second Coming of Christ....has already happened??
Isaac Newton wasn’t a preterist.
“Why is there still sin?”
It’s only in heaven. See my article about this:
https://prophecyquestions.com/no-more-tears-death-or-suffering/
Exegete this passage please.
Fool
Question about the Great White Throne judgment.
Preterists believe that was a comprehensive judgment that included judgment on apostate Israel and the dead in hades. Here’s my article about the General Resurrection:
https://prophecyquestions.com/the-general-resurrection-of-the-dead/
from Chilton’s Days of Vengeance re Rev 3:10:
“it is speaking of the period of tribulation which was ABOUT TO COME. Does it make sense that Christ would promise the church in Philly protection from something that would happen thousands of years later?. . . .” (pg 129)
I'm not giving your blog any hits and no one else is either.
You're saying this has already happened....that everyone has been judged and is now in the Lake of Fire??
I guess I should ask if you believe in a literal hell....do you?
Here's the passage. Exegete it please.
11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Prophecy is unfolding before our very eyes, and you come out with this???
You seem to be working overtime here...every day you are coming out with this kind of bs that pretty much says “Ignore the bible!... It’s meaningless!”....
Tell me this... WHEN WAS DAMASCUS DESTROYED??? Hmmmm???
That has not happened yet... Neither has the rapture... but it’s coming sooner than you think, and based on your posts, you will still be here going through it, talking about why you are a preterist.
Good luck with that.
This is the playground....you either put up or hush up.
Nope....I want YOUR exegesis of the passage.
MWT judgment you want more. I refer you to my article “Making Sense of Revelation 20”:
https://prophecyquestions.com/making-sense-of-revelation-20/
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