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!)
It seems you're unable to answer the questions.
Sure seems like this is very applicable.
Bible teachers to whom I had been listening could not give meaningful answers to my challenging questions about prophecy.
Has the Parousia already happened?
There is only one passage in the New Testament out of a couple dozen that does not have a time limitation either specified or implied of fulfillment in the first century. I have an article about that too:
https://prophecyquestions.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-the-timing-of-the-second-coming/
Call me a partial Preterist. Notes in the ESV Study Bible place the writing of Revelation around A.D. 95 based on the description of the cities and churches in the early chapters. Clearly, Jesus was telling some people about things they would see before the end of their lives.
Just as clearly, John did not have to be “in the spirit” to have a vision of things that had already happened if he was writing in 95. And if he was writing prior to 70, why did he seem to err seriously in predicting so many things that don’t seem to have happened?
I am confident we will learn the answers to questions like these, but I doubt it will be through debates like this.
—> 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.. . .
And this again points to your lack of education in Bible and theology.
Playground rules....put up or hush up.
for the last time you say, well adios
Some answers require more than a paragraph. . . .
If someone really wants an answer, they can click on the links.
One simple question he cannot, or will not answer....has the Second Coming of Christ already happened?
Drop the paragraphs in that case.
No one is giving you any hits.
Seems like your rule #13 is applicable...TO YOU.
Once again, has the Parousia already happened?
Yes, Jesus came in judgment in finality in AD 70.
But if you want to find passage that holds out hope for a second Second Coming, go to Acts 1:9-11.
I refute the premise that one has to be either preterist or futurist or historicist. When I look at eschatology (especially Revelation), some of it seems preterist and some of it futurist. It could be that the timeline of the seals and trumpets are spread out across many centuries with the early parts in John’s near future, some parts done recently, and the later parts not yet completed.
So it's already happened?????
IF He can in finality in 70 AD....then that would have been the Second Coming.
And you're saying a "second, Second Coming???
Bro, you have no clue what you're talking about. You are a false prophet.
And I thought Roman Catholics were way off base.....but, bro....you’ve exceeded them in your error in handling the Word.
The important thing is that YESHUA will physically return. And our Reserected bodies will be physical NOT completly Spiritual.
Good grief.
.
It became excruciatingly clear that many preterists, 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: GRUMPA aka Charles Meek.
—> Yes, Jesus came in judgment in finality in AD 70.
Somehow history never managed to record Him appearing in70ad…
Was he invisible, or is this your gnostic roots showing?
—> These charlatans (yes, that’s a strong but deserved charge) include: GRUMPA aka Charles Meek.
Wait.
Are you saying the heretical blog this guy quotes is written by himself???
Or any historian.
I do believe that is correct.
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