Article by Kenneth Uptegrove
Edited by Lora Uptegrove
I don't want
to offend you, but do you know what a Futurist or Preterist
is? If you don't know, you are probably a Futurist, and
you
really need to know what a preterist is.
Just trust me on this for a minute, and read this shocking
statement:
Preterists call
us "Futurists" (Premillennialists) because we believe Jesus
will return to Earth at the end of the 7 years of tribulation
and before the 1000 years of peace begins. However,
Preterists believe the Antichrist and the Second Coming
happened almost 2000 years ago (way back in 70 AD), and
(again) we Premillennialists believe the antichrist (and the
Second Coming) will come in the future.
Since the term
"Futurist" is something Preterists call Premillennialist, most
Premillennialist never heard that term (Futurist) or the term
"Preterist."
This may not sound important to
you yet, but you will see in a minute that it really is
important to you. Please hang in there a little longer.
The
subject here is eschatology, which is the study of end-time
events, as illustrated by the book of Revelation.
The
end-time events include the coming of the antichrist, the 7
year tribulation, the Second Coming, and Christ ruling during
the 1000 years of peace...if you are a Premillennialist.
But if you are a Preterist or Historist you don't believe in
any of these prophesied events.
Pardon me if
I'm wrong, but you probably don't have a clue as to what
most…if not ALL of the above "eschatological
teaching" are. But, if I'm right, then I think you would
appreciatea
teaching that will inform and protect you from error you are
unaware of, and lead you to Biblical truth.
Act 17:11 These were
more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness, and searched the
Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
2Ti 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His
appearing and His kingdom:
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears, they will heap up for
themselves teachers;
2Ti 4:4 and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables.
This subject is rarely
heard from the pulpits...but it will encourage you to take
your Bible study very seriously.
For the
first 55 years of my life the only end-time teaching I knew
anything about was the pre-tribulation-rapture view. I was
ignorant, docile, and naïve, and I think that is where most of
us are today. It never occurred to me to ask if there were
other teachings to consider (or shun) before deciding what
to believe about end-time events. I am not criticizing the
pre-tribulation-rapture view, I'm just saying that is the only
one I knew, I didn't know there were any
others...period.
Keep in
mind that most eschatologies make the identical statement of
faith, saying that they derive their eschatology straight from
the Bible. All claim to stand squarely on the Word.
All are supported by brilliant scholars who claim
to love the Lord Jesus Christ equally as much, and are often
found in our own denomination...and then they ride off into a
dozen different directions. But God is not the author of
confusion, and they all obviously can't be right, and time
will test them all.
We Bible
believing Christians believe a great falling away is coming,
but the nature of this event it not quite clear in the minds
of many believers. It
has never occurred to many of us that the falling
away—properly defined—is erroneous teachings in our (yours,
mine, every) doctrinal group. This sounds like a
wild accusation, but if you are a Berean seeker of wisdom
and truth you will want to read this. (Acts 17:11)
According
to the Ryrie study Bible, "There are four principal
viewpoints concerning the interpretation of this book
(i.e., the book of Revelation)",
(1) the preterist, which
views the prophecies of the book as having been fulfilled in the early
history of the Church;
(2) the historical, which
understands the book as portraying a panorama of the history of the
Church from the days of John to the end of time;
(3) the idealists, which
consider the book a pictorial unfolding of great principles in constant
conflict, without reference to actual events; and...
(4) the futurist, which
views most of the book [chapters 4-22] as prophecy yet to be
fulfilled..."
These four are the only
schools of eschatology, but as if to further confuse the situation, there
are several variations of each.
The idealist view has more to
do with the book of Revelation than with the rest of Scripture. For that
reason the idealist view gets absorbed, more-or-less, into the preterist
and Historist view, and tends to lose its identity as an eschatology. At
least, that is how I see it. One variation on the idealist view is the
liberal, humanist, agnostic attitude, and is of no interest to Bible
believers. Therefore the liberal view is disregarded in this discourse.
Too often the
assumption is made that since the Bible is infallible, and
since the doctrine of our faith comes straight from the
Bible, that our doctrine and the Bible are equally
infallible, and are (therefore) synonymous terms. Yet this
same confession of faith results in many different
doctrines.
If being
Scriptural makes our doctrine infallible, then how can we have
dozens of different doctrines authenticated by the same test
of doctrine?
We know the
answer---the Bible is infallible, but we are not—but that
gets overlooked! As the old saying goes, "The main barrier
to truth is the assumption that we already have it."
We see through a glass darkly
(1 Cor. 13:12). We are subject to sin and error, even when studying the
Bible, and the hundreds of Bible believing denominations out there
demonstrate that to be true. Picture an old-time wagon wheel for a moment.
Think of the eschatological teaching of any congregation as being the hub
or axel of the wheel, and the spokes as being all the doctrines that
emanate and revolve around that wheel. If this be true, then if
there is error in the eschatological teachings of a congregation, then all
their other doctrines are going to be tainted because they all revolve
around and emanate from the eschatological hub.
We all agree that even though
we are called to be perfect, none of us have actually achieved
perfection yet (Col. 3:14; Heb. 6:1; John 17:23). We all sin and are
subject to error. Therefore, in all probability, we all are in error
about something. But---being born again---we would immediately repent of
our error...IF...we could be convinced that what we consider to be "a
sacred doctrine from on high" is, in fact, a deception from the pit.
Since Satan does
not have any truth to build even one true doctrine upon, he is
free to have a
thousand false doctrines, many of which are made up of a
palatable mixture of God's truths and Satan's lies. This, of
course, demonstrates how any eschatology can be both in error,
and in truth--all at the same time!
Jesus declared (in Matthew
15:13 KJV) "...every plant, which my heavenly father hath not planted,
shall be rooted up." I think that Jesus is telling us that every
doctrine and every tradition that God did not introduce, He will
eventually root up. Understanding this warning should compel us all to
study ALL the eschatologies carefully. John the Revelator advised us to
"look up and be ready." As for me and my household, we will keep
our eyes and ears on Jesus, not the professional eschatologists (who
disagree with each other).
SCHOLARS WHO WEAR
BLINDERS
Many scholars
make it a rule to never study any eschatology but the one they
believe; and even if they do, they read only what scholars of
their school of eschatology have written about other
eschatologies. It turns out that most Bible scholars have not
honestly and methodically studied any eschatology other than
the one he/she was required to study while in seminary--no
alternatives offered.
We all understand the power
of peer pressure and the loyalty we all have to our family, alumni, and
denomination. It can easily become more important to be warmly accepted
than to be painfully right.
We are decidedly
pre-millennial, but we do not find it wise to be more specific
than that in light of the wisdom expounded upon in this
article. It is better to be knowledgeable of all the
eschatologies but not committed to any of them so that we
will be more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the
events of history unfold.
We all need to
continue to press into the intimate relationship that Jesus
requires of us in order to discern the times. Then being in
tune with the Holy Spirit, we will have spiritual eyes to
see, and spiritual ears to hear, what is REALLY coming down.
This is just speculation on
our part, but it becomes clearer to us all the time that end-time
events are not going to happen like any of the professional eschatologists
think it will. The fiction books have been written, the movies have
been made, and multitudes believe these scenarios, these fiction
accounts, these theories...God help us.
Most importantly...we love
the brethren and do not disregard the fellowship of those who are not of
our particular persuasion concerning end-time events. Since the Holy
Spirit indwells all true born again Christians, how dare we place
ourselves above the Holy Spirit by not receiving whom He indwells.
When pondering why there
is so much diversity, confusion, error, and reproach among those called
Christians, one may wonder why the Bible doesn't speak quite so
clearly on this subject of
eschatology. We propose that
God wants this to be a mystery so
as to keep Satan from knowing with exactness, not us.
We have the Holy Spirit to show us when prophecy is being fulfilled, Satan
doesn't. But that also means that we need to know the Lord's voice
so that we can hear Him telling us what He is doing. So many
Christians either do not know His voice, or are so sold out to a
particular doctrine (of men) that they won't/can't listen to any other
message from God or man (He who has ears to hear).
In our definition and
discourse on many of the schools of eschatology, we are very critical of
some mainline denominations, as well as the Charismatic movement, that are
not pre-millennial. Yet, as
my book and articles clearly show, we are ourselves Charismatic. We
believe that the Acts model, the Ephesians 4:11 ministries of the apostle,
prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, and the 1 Corinthians 12 gifts
of the Holy Spirit have been in the church since the day of Pentecost. The
Holy Spirit is now bringing the church into more maturity and preparing us
for the time we find ourselves in...the days just prior to the Second
Coming.
We believe the following
doctrines are in serious error:
the replacement theology, and preterism. We feel that only
pre-millennial views can be accurate, and all other views (post-millennial
and a-millennial) are in serious error, and sometimes heretical.
Most old line Protestant
denominations came out Catholicism and are still a lot more Catholic than
they would like to think. Even the most Evangelical and Charismatic
churches have the rudiments of Catholicism in them, so it should
not be surprising that a form of Catholic Preterism would be found in some
of them. A history book that documents those Roman roots is titled:
Pagan Christianity, The Origins of Our Modern Church Practices, by
Frank Viola.
When the premise
of any philosophy or theology is wrong, that twists/
distorts
everything else they believe. As I see it, the eschatology of all
doctrinal groups is the wheel's hub that all their other doctrines must
revolve around and be in agreement with. We are now in the time (just
prior to the seven year tribulation) when eschatology’s (and the
doctrines that revolve around them) will stand or fail.
TAKE A CAREFUL
LOOK AT THE BELOW DIRECTORY TO READ A DESCRIPTION OF EACH OF
THESE POINTS OF VIEW IN ORDER TO BE INFORMED AND PROTECTED
FROM ANY OF THE POSTMILLENNIAL AND AMILLENNIAL VIEWS.
DIRECTORY TO THE DIFFERENT
ESCHATOLOGICAL GROUPS MENTIONED ON THIS PAGE
The Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Wrath, Mid-tribulation
rapture, and Post-Tribulation coming of Christ doctrines all
affirm that Jesus Christ is coming back bodily to rule and
judge in the future. They can be lumped together as
Premillennial views.
The core doctrine of Jesus Christ's second
coming, as taught consistently in Scripture, is as follows:
"Jesus Christ is coming again bodily to earth to rule and
judge."
Premillennialism in
Christian eschatology is the belief that
Christ will literally reign on the earth for 1,000 years
at his
second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism
because it views the current age as prior to
Christ’s kingdom. It is distinct from the other forms of
Christian eschatology such as
amillennialism or
postmillennialism, which view the millennial rule as
either figurative and non-temporal, or as occurring prior to
the
second coming. Premillennialism is largely based upon a
literal interpretation of
Revelation 20:1-6 in the
New Testament which describes Christ’s coming to the earth
and subsequent reign at the end of an apocalyptic period of
tribulation. It views this future age as a time of
fulfillment for the prophetic hope of God’s people as given in
the
Old Testament.
Historically
Christian premillennialism has also been referred to as
"chiliasm" or "millenarianism".
The
"Chiliad"
("ch" is pronounced as "k") is another term we are not
familiar with, but it is the Greek word for 1,000.
The
theological term "premillennialism" did not come into
general use until the mid-nineteenth
century, the modern period in which premillennialism was
revived. [Taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premillennialism]
The Preterists call
Premillennialists "Futurists" because Preterists believe the
Antichrist (and the Second Coming) came in the distant past
(in 70 AD), and the Premillennialists believe the antichrist
(and the Second Coming) will come in the future. Since
the term "Futurist" is something Preterists call
Premillennialist, most Premillennialist never heard that term
(Futurist) or the term "Preterist."
But it is high time they did.
Pre-Tribulational Rapture:
The pre-trib view holds that the church will be "raptured"
before the entire seventieth week of Daniel. This is a
prevalent view in countries that have never experienced
widespread persecution, such as the United States. Jesus then
comes back bodily at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel
to rule and judge.
Mid-Tribulational Rapture:
The church will escape the last half of the seventieth week,
also known as the Great Tribulation. Jesus then comes back
bodily at the end of the Tribulation to rule and judge.
Pre-Wrath
Rapture: The
basic aspects of the pre-wrath view are that the "rapture" is distinct from the
"second coming" and the "rapture" will take place between the sixth and seventh
seals. Jesus then comes back bodily at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel
to rule and judge.
Post-Tribulational Second Coming:
In most versions of post-tribulationism, the "rapture" and the "second
coming" are at the same time. Post-Trib people do not consider
themselves to be Pre-Wrath. Jesus Christ comes back for His elect,
they meet Him in the air and He comes bodily to earth immediately to
rule and reign.
The second coming
of Christ is a cornerstone of Biblical doctrine. Our Lord
promised it, the apostles confirmed it, and the entire book of
Revelation celebrates it. Below are just a few examples of the verses
that establish this fact.
John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms;
if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am."
Matthew 26:64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
"But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds
of heaven."
Luke 21:27 At that time they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
The return of Christ will be visible. He will not come
in secret; He will not come "mystically," or only to those with eyes
to see Him. All humanity will witness His coming, and those who do not
belong to Him will be terrified.
Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you
stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken
from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
him go into heaven."
Matthew 24:29-30 "Immediately after the distress of
those days "`the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies
will be shaken.' "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.
Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every
eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of
the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
The Second Coming of Christ will be Bodily. He will not
come "spiritually," He will not return "in His Body" the Church. He
has a body now, a glorious body, witnessed by the apostle John (Rev
1:12-16), and when He comes in clouds of glory, it will be in that
glorious body.
Philippians 3:21 who, by the power that enables him
to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly
bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Zechariah 14:3 Then the LORD will go out and fight
against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that
day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem,
and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west,
forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and
half moving south.
He will come in Power and Glory--unlike His first
coming, His true nature will not be concealed. He will come at the
head of a heavenly army, as the conquering Sovereign that He is.
Titus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope-- the
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Matthew 24:30 They will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
Pre-millennial Historicism--The Classic Form of
"Historic-Premillennialism"
Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Spurgeon, Francis Schaeffer, George Eldon Ladd,
and many of Christianity's greatest theologians held the
pre-millennial Historist position.
Historic
premillennialism:
Like dispensational-pre-millennialism, historic-pre-millennialists
holds to the premillennial return of Christ. Jesus will reign on Earth
over all nations after the tribulation, anti-Christ, etc. Many
historic-pre-millennialists hold to a “post-tribulational rapture,”
unlike most dispensational-pre-millennialists who believe in the “pre-trib-rapture.”
This refers to the timing in relation to the "tribulation” of God
taking His chosen out of the world. Unlike
dispensational-pre-millennialism, historic-pre-millennialism does not
see a prominent place for physical Israel but holds to what
dispensational-pre-millennialism call "replacement” theology"—the idea
that Gentiles are grafted into the covenant as partakers of God’s
promises and blessings to Israel in the Old Testament. Similar to
dispensational-pre-millennialism, historic-pre-millennialism is
pessimistic about the present era that will culminate in increased
depravity, the rise of the antichrist, and the tribulation—only to be
later followed by the glorious millennium.
Replacement Theology
essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan.
Adherents of Replacement Theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s
chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the
nation of Israel. All the different views of the relationship between
the church and Israel can be divided into two camps: either the Church
is a continuation of Israel (Replacement Theology / Covenant
Theology), or the Church is completely different and distinct from
Israel (Dispensationalism / Premillennialism).
Replacement
Theology teaches that the Church is the replacement for Israel and
that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in
the Christian Church, not in Israel. So, the prophecies in Scripture
concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land
are "spiritualized" or “allegorized” into promises of God's blessing
for the Church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the
continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and
especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel
has been condemned by God, and there is no future for the Jewish
nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish
people over the past 2000 years despite the many attempts to destroy
them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in
the 20th century after not existing for 1900 years?
The view that
Israel and the Church are different is clearly taught in the New
Testament. In this view, the Church is completely different and
distinct from Israel, and the two are never to be confused or used
interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the Church is an
entirely new creation, that came into being on the Day of Pentecost,
and will continue until it is translated to heaven at the Rapture
(Ephesians 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The Church has no
relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants,
promises, and warnings are valid only for Israel. Israel has been
temporarily set aside in God's program during these past 2,000 years
of dispersion.
1 Now the LORD said
to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And
from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I
will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make
your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I
will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I
will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will
be blessed."
Preter: a
prefix, meaning “beyond,” “more than,” “by,” “past,” occurring
originally in loanwords from Latin (preterit), and used in the
formation of compound words (preterlegal).
THE TRAGEDY OF
AMILLENNIALISM
Excerpts from Pg 256
in Learn
The Bible in 24 Hours by Chuck Missler
Several tragic ideas or logical assumptions are
derived from amillennialism.
First, all
of the Messianic promises throughout the Old Testament are at risk,
promises that point to the dynasty of David ruling the earth through
Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Second,
amillenialism
allowed the early church to become extremely anti-Semitic. Jews have
suffered through nineteen hundred years of persecution, much under the
banner of Christ, because of these views.
Third, it caused the
Church to lose its moorings, its roots. We serve a Jewish King. We
serve a church founded by Jewish leaders. And we venerate a Jewish
Scripture. God through with Israel, yet the destiny of Israel is
denigrated by amillennialism.
Fourth, the promise
given to Mary by the angel Gabriel is rendered indeterminate. She was
specifically told that her child would rule on the throne of David.
The throne of David did not exist during those days. It has yet to be
reestablished.
The fundamental issue
is really hermeneutics. How do you go about interpreting the
scriptural text? To the extent that you take it literally, you will be
driven to a premillennial point of view. To the extent you are willing
to treat the text symbolically or allegorically you will drift toward
the amillennial perspective, rationalizing these promises in
figurative terms.
It is the discovery
that God says what He means, and means what He says, that raises the
fog of diffidence and energizes the most exciting adventure of
anyone's lifetime!
Preterists
say that everything in Revelation has already taken place and is all
past history. Reconstructionists
claim the Church has replaced Israel and has inherited the promises
that I were given to her. Neither of these are Scriptural doctrines.
There are
at least four kinds of preterism. For lack of better terms we will call them
mild, moderate, partial, and extreme.
·
MILD preterism teaches
that the Book of Revelation was fulfilled during the first three centuries
as God waged war on the two early enemies of the church: Israel and Rome.
The first half of Revelation teaches that Israel was defeated in A.D. 70,
while the last half of Revelation is about God's conquest of Rome in the
fourth century when Constantine declared the Roman Empire Christian. Thus,
this earliest form of preterism teaches that Revelation was fulfilled in
the first 300 years of the church's history.
·
MODERATE preterists
believe that almost all prophecy was fulfilled in the A.D. 70 destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans. They do believe that a few passages still
teach a yet future second coming (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1
Thessalonians 4:16-17) and the resurrection of believers at Christ's
bodily return.
Most Partial
Preterists also believe the term Last Days refers not to the last days of
planet Earth or the last days of humankind, but rather to the last days of
the
Mosaic Covenant which God had exclusively with national
Israel
until the year AD 70, see also
Supersessionism. As God came in
judgment upon various nations in the
Old Testament, Christ also came in judgment against those in Israel
who
rejected him. The "last days," however, are to be distinguished from
the "last day," which is considered still future and entails the
Second Coming of
Jesus, the
Resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous dead physically from the
grave in like-manner to Jesus' physical resurrection, the
Final Judgment, and the creation of a literal (rather than covenantal)
New Heavens and a New Earth free from the curse of sin and death which was
brought about by the fall of
Adam and Eve, also called the
Kingdom of God. Thus partial preterists are in agreement and
conformity with the historic eucemenical
creeds of the Church and articulate the
doctrine of the resurrection held by the early
Church Fathers. Partial preterists hold that the
New Testament predicts and depicts many "comings" of Christ and that
the phrase Second Coming means second of like kind in a series for the
Scriptures record other comings even before the judgment-coming in AD70,
thus eliminating that event as the "second" of any series, let alone the
second of the series in which the example if the earthly, physical
ministry of Christ. Partial Preterists believe that the new creation comes
in redemptive progression as Christ reigns from His heavenly throne,
subjugating His enemies, and will eventually culminate in the destruction
of physical death, the "last enemy" (1 Cor 15:20-24). If there are any
enemies remaining, the resurrection event cannot have occurred.
A variant form of
Partial Preterism developed within
Catholic
tradition that identified the woman in Revelation 12 as
Mary rather than being symbolic of
Israel
and/or the
Church in Protestant forms of Partial Preterism.
Partial Preterism
relies heavily on the account of
Flavius Josephus in describing the
destruction of Jerusalem as a first hand account of the recorded
fulfillment of the Book of Revelation.
Because of the
widespread acceptance of
Dispensational
Futurism amongst American
evangelicals, Partial Preterism is often considered unorthodox by
many. Partial Preterism is also criticised for claiming that the Book of
Revelation was written before the
destruction of Jerusalem sometime during the reign of
Roman
emperorNero
in the 60s AD rather than in 95 AD which is the widely held belief among
Dispensationalists.
Kenneth Gentry, a prominent Partial Preterist, wrote his
PhD thesis
Before Jerusalem Fell (which has since been made into a book) on a
defense of placing the writing of the Book of Revelation during Nero's
reign.
·
EXTREME preterists,
or consistent preterists, as they prefer to be known, hold that all future
Bible prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
If there is a future second coming, they say, the Bible does not talk
about it. Extreme preterists believe that there is no future bodily
resurrection, which place them outside the realm of Christian orthodoxy.
A
variant form is called Partial Preterism
which was developed within
Catholic tradition that identified the woman in Revelation 12 as
Mary rather than being symbolic of
Israel
and/or the
Church
in Protestant forms of Partial Preterism.
Most old
line Protestant denominations came out Catholicism and are still a lot
more Catholic than they would like to think. Even the most
Evangelical and Charismatic churches have the rudiments of Catholicism
in them, so it should not be surprising that a mild form of Preterism
would be found in some of them.
There are other assorted views, but we are trying to be brief here.
Here
are excerpts from a pamphlet by John Noe entitled: “What is the
Preterist View?”
"Scores of
preterist
books, tracts, video and audio tapes have been produced and many more are
on the way. It's beginning to capture significant public attention and is
'spreading like wildfire' at the grass roots level."
The final events of the
redemptive drama came to pass in the first century within the apostles'
generation( before A.D. 70). Christ's kingdom is here now. Paradise has
been restored in Christ (spiritually speaking). We live in the Garden of
Eden now (if we are in Christ)... "
"The biblical last days
are behind us, not ahead of us. They are in the past, not in the future.
Every New Testament reference to the last days or equivalent 'last times,
last hour', refers to the time its writers were living in the first
century. They weren't the last days of planet Earth, or the end of time.
They were the last days of the Old Covenant Jewish system and age. There
are no exceptions. "
Do you understand
what he's saying?
Mr. DeMar
attempts to defend his view in the following manner:
"But how
can we maintain that Jesus 'came' in A.D. 70? Jesus 'coming' in
judgment upon Jerusalem and His coming 'up to the Ancient of Days'
(Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30) were two events that occurred within
the time span of the first generation of Christians. There is no
future fulfillment of these events. "11
David Chilton
was one of the leading scholars of this movement. He was their leading
theologian up until his death. In his book, "Paradise Restored," he
summarizes the forty-five major arguments in his book. I'm only going
to list a few of these. I'm not trying to shock you. I am trying to
paint a picture for you with authenticity, verification and facts.
Here are just a few of the forty-five major arguments that he makes in
this book.
8. "The
wicked are 'raptured' first (i.e., driven out of the earth and
disinherited), as the righteous increasingly come into possession of
all things."
11.
"Daniel's prophecy of the Son of Man 'coming in the clouds' was
fulfilled in the Ascension of Christ."
(Notice,
they've got it backwards! They make Christ's ascension, his return!)
14. "Ethnic
Israel was excommunicated for its apostasy and will never again be
God's Kingdom."
17. "The
Olivet Discourse is not about the Second Coming of Christ. It is a
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70." See they all go
back to A.D. 70."
18. "The
Great Tribulation took place in the fall of Israel. It will not be
repeated and thus is not a future event."
20. "Although
Israel will someday be restored to the true faith, the Bible does not
tell of any future plan for Israel as a special nation."
23. "The
'Great Apostasy' happened in the first century. We therefore have no
Biblical warrant to expect increasing apostasy as history progresses;
instead, we should expect the increasing Christianization of the
world."
24. "The
Last Days is a Biblical expression for the period between Christ's
Advent and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; the 'last days' of
Israel."
36. "The
'Millennium' is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which He established at
His First Advent."
(David
Chilton just said the millennium began when Christ came two thousand
years ago!)
38. "The
'thousand years' of Revelation 20 is symbolic for a vast number of
years, most likely many thousands."
42. "The
center for the Christian reconstruction of the world is the Church."
This book
entitled, "The Last Days According to Jesus," with the sub-title,
"When Did Jesus Say He Would Return?" Sproul writes,
"Josephus's
record of Jerusalem's fall indicates the radical fulfillment of
Jesus' prophecy in the Olivet Discourse. As we have seen, preterists
see in this event not only the destruction of the temple and its
attending circumstances, but also the parousia of Christ his
judgment-coming "13
Abanes is
about to show his true "doctrinal colors."
He
continues, "One question, however, must be answered: If Jesus was
telling the Jews present with him in the first century that they
were the generation who would see 'the end,' then is he guilty of
making a false prophecy? No. The 'end' about which he spoke may have
been the end of Israel and Jerusalem in 70 A.D, not the end of the
world. All of the 'signs' enumerated by Jesus took place in the
first century just before the destruction of Jerusalem under the
Roman Empire Titus. "20
Why does he
say we're wrong? Because everybody that preceded us for two thousand
years was wrong. However, that is faulty logic. That is like somebody
saying in 1945, "You know, preachers have said for nineteen hundred
and forty-five years that Israel would be reborn and they've all been
wrong. So all these guys today are wrong. "
But guess
what happened in 1948? Israel was reborn, thus setting this generation
apart from all generations that preceded it.
In fact, the
very nation of Israel itself is a real problem to the preterist
scoffers. The preterists have no plausible explanation for this great
miracle of history. The scoffers want us to believe that the
re-establishing of the nation of Israel in our lifetime is merely a
fluke, an accident of history. Yet today, for the first time since 586
BC, the Jewish people are living in their Biblical land under a
sovereign government.
It should be
overwhelmingly self-evident that Israel itself is Gods "super sign"
that we are in fact living in the last days, and stands as a strong
witness against the message of the modern scoffers of today.
The Preterists
contend that all New Testament prophecies about the last days all
occurred back at 70 A.D., including almost the entire book of
Revelation! Nice theory, only one major problem....
If John wrote
the Book of Revelation AFTER the Temple's destruction in 70 A.D., it
would essentially destroy their entire premise. And every single
Preterist teacher knows this fact.
The preterist
defender, Kenneth L. Gentry, in his enthusiastic review of David
Chilton's dominion theology book, “DAYS OF VENGEANCE", wrote, "If it
could be demonstrated that Revelation was written 25 years after the
fall of Jerusalem, Chilton 's entire labor would go up in smoke. "
Does anyone
know for sure "when" John the Revelator penned the Book of Revelation?
The vast majority of scholars and church historians contend the time
to be between 90-96 A.D.—some 25 years AFTER the destruction of
Jerusalem!
Thomas Ice
quotes Greek scholar and historian Kurt Aland in reference to the
actual date when the Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle
John.
"Aland says
that revelation was 'written about the year 96'. If this is true, it
renders the preterist's interpretation impossible, for Revelation is a
prophecy about a future event. "
"The majority
of scholars today think it unlikely that Revelation was written before
A.D. 70. Instead, they favor the A.D. 95-96 date. "34
There is a
total absence of any historical references from the first three
centuries following Christ to support the writing of Revelation prior
to 70 A.D.
If the Preterists
are right and Jesus returned to earth back in the first century as
they contend, then surely we can find somebody, somewhere, back there
in the first second and third century who believed and taught this
fact. Right? We cannot find even one!
THE COMING
RESURRECTION. Some preterists are partial preterists and some are
full preterists. I believe "full" preterists are guilty of true
heresy. True heresy is when you doctrinally deny one or more of the
essentials of the faith. If you deny an essential, you preach heresy.
We can differ on "non-essentials" all day; and still be brothers. But
when you deny an essential you've got a problem. True heresy is when
you deny the essentials. One of the "essentials" is the doctrine
concerning the coming Resurrection.
Now tell us,
Paul, how have they erred? Keep reading. "Saying that the resurrection
is past already..." In Paul's day there were some heretics who had
erred from the truth, trying to get gullible, naive Christians to
believe that the resurrection already occurred. My friend, that is
exactly and precisely what the scoffers are doing today. The extreme
preterists believe that there is no future bodily resurrection, which
places them outside the realm of Christian Orthodoxy.
Gary DeMar in
an appendix within his book reprints David Chilton's bold
declarations,
"The 'new
heavens and earth' promised to the Church comprise the age of the New
Covenant—the Gospel's triumph, when all mankind will come to bow down
before the Lord. John Bray writes: 'This passage is a grand
description of the gospel age after Christ came in judgment in 70 A.D.
and took away the old heavens and the old earth. We now had the new
heavens and the new earth of the gospel age. "
Notice yet
another quote from the preterist John Noe, "Because Peter said the
elements were going to melt with fervent heat... So what are these
'elements?' The 'elements' Peter is speaking of are the 'elementary
principles' or 'rudiments' of Judaism, that Old Covenant 'world' or
system, which would soon be destroyed in the coming of 'the day of the
Lord' in A.D. 70. What was the fire? This divine 'fire' destroyed the
Temple, the city, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the genealogies, the
tribes, and the whole heart, soul and physical components of the
Jewish religious system and theocracy—forever. Truly, Peter's 'world'
that was soon to perish was the world of biblical Judaism; Old
Covenant Israel."
Postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the biblical book of
Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after (Latin
post-) the "Millennium", a Golden Age or era of Christian prosperity and
dominance. The term subsumes several similar views of the end times, and it
stands in contrast to
premillennialism (the view that Christ’s second coming will occur prior
to his Millennial Kingdom, and that the Millennial Kingdom is a literal
1,000-year reign) and, to a lesser extent,
amillennialism (no literal millennium).
Postmillennialism refers to a belief that Christ returns after a period of
time, but not necessarily 1,000 years. Those who hold this view do not
interpret unfulfilled prophecy using a normal, literal method. They believe
that Revelation 20:4-6 should not be taken literally. They believe that
1,000 years simply means a long period of time. Furthermore, the prefix
"post" in postmillennialism denotes the view that Christ will return after
Christians (not Christ Himself) have established the kingdom on this earth.
Those
who hold to postmillennialism believe that this world will become better and
better—all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding—with the entire world
eventually becoming "Christianized." After this happens, Christ will return.
However, this is not the view of the world in the end times that Scripture
presents. From the book of Revelation, it is easy to see that the world will
be a terrible place during that future time. Also, in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 Paul
describes the last days as “terrible times.”
Those
who hold to postmillenialism use a non-literal method of interpreting
unfulfilled prophecy, assigning their own meanings to words. The problem
with this is that when you start assigning meanings to words other than
their normal meaning, a person can decide that a word, phrase, or sentence
means anything they want it to mean. All objectivity concerning the meaning
of words is lost. When words lose their meaning, communication ceases.
However, this is not how God has intended for language and communication to
be. God communicates to us through His written word, with objective meanings
to words so that ideas and thoughts can be communicated.
A
normal, literal interpretation of Scripture rejects postmillennialism and
holds to a normal interpretation of all Scripture, including unfulfilled
prophecy. Concerning the interpretation of prophecy, we have hundreds of
examples from Scripture of prophecies being fulfilled. Take for example the
prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament. Those prophecies were
fulfilled literally. Consider the virgin birth of Christ (Isaiah 7:14;
Matthew 1:23). Again, consider His death for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-9; 1
Peter 2:24). These were fulfilled literally. This is reason enough to assume
that God will continue in the future to literally fulfill His Word, His
prophecies of future events.
Postmillennialism and Dominionism are becoming hard to distinguish
apart these days. They are fusing into one system of belief,
especially popular in
the Third Wave
revival. It is the belief that Christ will return after the Church has
Christianized society, through a Christian force called "Joel's Army".
He will not rapture His elect because they will be victorious here on
earth. Jesus Christ does not come back bodily but returns "in His
Church" and reigns on earth through His Church spiritually.
Postmillennialism denies that Christ returns bodily to rule and judge.
The expression
Third Wave was coined by Christian theologian C. Peter Wagneraround
1980 to describe what followers
believe to be the recent historical work of the
Holy Spirit. It is part of a
larger movement known as the
Neocharismatic movement. The
"Third Wave" involves those
Christians who have received
Pentecostal-like experiences,
however Third Wavers usually claim no close association with either
the Pentecostal or
Charismatic movements.
The
First "wave" occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century with
the rise of the Pentecostal movement, beginning with the
Azusa Street Revival.
The Third "wave" occurred during the mid 1980s and continues today, and is
associated with
Wagner's own ministry, as well as the
Vineyard Movement. The
Toronto blessing and
Eternal Grace are also an
expression of this movement.
In
C. Peter Wagner's
book that is titled:
DOMINION!
How Kingdom Action Can Change the World,
he states that he is a Partial Preterist
and strong advocate of Dominion Theology.
Wagner said his eschatological views became clarified when he read
Victorious Eschatology by Harold Eberle and Martin Trench. He feels
that Victorious eschatology fits dominion theology like a hand in a
glove. Eberle and Trench say, "Before Jesus returns, the Church will
rise in glory, unity, and maturity. The Kingdom of God will grow and
advance until it fills the Earth."
Many Christians, including more conservative Pentecostals, have
rejected the Third Wave movement as being unbiblical, since some believe it to
include expressions of the Latter Rain Movement,
Manifest
Sons of God teaching and Kingdom Now theology, while many
within the Third Wave movement also reject these doctrines.
The teaching that in the last days, a "new breed" of
Christians will arise - the "Manifest
Sons of God"
- who will have supernatural spiritual power and be instrumental in
subduing the earth.
This movement is also referred to as "Joel's Army."
It
is claimed that these people will be perfected into their "glorified
bodies" prior to Christ's return. That perfection will allow them to
subdue the earth for Jesus. Proponents of this doctrine also claim
Christians, having a "divine nature," become "gods." They say Christ
came into us as a "seed" and grows into a "prophet." Thus Christ does
not physically return, but returns within us. The
rapture,
according to this doctrine, will be of the wicked - not of believers.
This teaching is part of what is known as 'dominion
theology' which teaches that an elite army of 'overcomers' will
either destroy or subdue all the enemies of Christ until they
eventually gain power and authority throughout the world. The
government of the nations will be upon their shoulders and when all
the secular authorities, governments, princes and kings have finally
submitted to them, Christ will return and they will present the
kingdom to him.
Source: Clifford Hill, "Prophecy Today," Vol. 7, No. 1 Eng., as
cited in "Joel's Army," 1991, Jewel van der Merwe, Discernment Min.
Many critics argue that the third wave differs from the charismatic
movement only in terminology, not in either theology or practice, so
to distinguish between the two is to make a distinction without a
difference. For example, Dr.
John MacArthur makes this
argument in his book Charismatic Chaos. Because of
its similarity to the charismatic movement, many criticisms of the
charismatic movement also apply to the Third Wave movement.
Although clearly a generalization that is not true of everyone
associated with each of these three waves, it is fair to speak of 3
subtly different theologies of their claims of experience of the
Spirit.
Those associated with the First Wave will generally preach the
"baptism with the Holy Spirit" as a separate experience to conversion
which must be accompanied by
speaking in tongues in order to
be genuine.
Those associated with the Second Wave will still tend to speak of a
second experience of the Spirit - a baptism or filling of the Spirit,
although they will often more readily state that all Christians in
some sense have the Spirit. They will also usually state that tongues
"usually" accompanies this experience.
Those associated with the third wave will tend to identify "baptism
with the Spirit" with conversion, and not refer to a second
crisis-like experience of receiving the Spirit. They would prefer to
emphasize the ongoing nature of the experience of the Spirit. Tongues
may not be emphasized at all, and will usually not feature in public
meetings. Some third wave leaders would themselves not speak in
tongues.
One thing is
clear about all this is that it is not a bit clear.
Dominion Theology
is a grouping of theological systems
with the common belief that society should be governed exclusively by the
law of God as codified in the Bible, to the exclusion of secular law, a view
also known as
theonomy.
The most prominent modern formulation of Dominion Theology is
Christian Reconstructionism, founded by
R. J. Rushdoony in the 1970s. Reconstructionists themselves use the word
dominionism to refer to their belief that civil government should be
controlled by Christians alone and conducted according to Biblical law.
Social scientists have used the word "dominionism" to refer to adherence to
Dominion Theology
as well as to the influence in the broader
Christian Right of ideas inspired by Dominion Theology.
Although such influence (particularly of Reconstructionism) has been
described by many authors,
full adherents to Reconstructionism are few and marginalized among
conservative Christians. [Taken
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism]
Reconstructionist Christianity
is a Christian movement which seeks to impose Biblical laws - especially Old
Testament laws - on America.
Christian Reconstructionism is a Calvinist movement in origin, therefore
most leading Christian Reconstructionists have either been Calvinists or
have been educated in the tradition of Reformed Theology. Christian
Reconstructionists all generally agree that biblical law needs to be applied
to modern American society, that all social ills can be traced to attempts
by humanity to rule itself independent of God's will, and that Christianity
should be privileged in culture and law.
Kingdom Now
proponents believe that
God lost control
over the world to
Satan when
Adam and Eve
sinned. Since then, the theology goes, God has been trying to
reestablish control over the world by seeking a special group of believers.
Through these people — known as "covenant people," "overcomers" or "Joel's
army," depending on the source — social institutions (including
governments and
laws) would be brought under God's authority. These "covenant people" or
"overcomers" are "little gods" — God's "extension" in the world to regain
authority from the devil. The church, under the leadership of "restored"
apostles and
prophets,
therefore must take over the world and put down all opposition to it before
Christ can return. Anyone who rebels against the church, along with
other "evildoers," must convert or be punished.
One of the most
controversial tenets of the theology is the belief that secular or
non-Christian society will never succeed, since, according to their beliefs,
the only valid legislation,
social theory, spiritual beliefs, and economic theory are those derived
from the Bible.
Hence, Kingdom Now opposes a
separation of church and state.
Kingdom Now theology
has some beliefs in common with the
Latter Rain Movement, such as a belief in restored apostles and
prophets. It also has a great deal in common with
Dominion theology which is the belief that this world can be conquered
for Christ by the temporal political, military, and religious powers of a
present day Christian superpower. Its
eschatology is a dominionist belief that a church-state takeover of the
world is awaiting fulfillment. Typically the belief comes on the scene
whenever a superpower comes to the apex of international wealth and power.
Some evangelicals call the belief "deceitfulness of riches". Those on the
political left are inclined to call it "jingoism". This optimistic, (some
call it high minded), spirit moves across from the state or a booming
merchant world to affect the church. It brings with it a new optimistic
ecclesiastical mindset for world takeover. This
[1] historical overview outlines Dominion Theology as it was seen and
demonstrated in the Edwardian era of the British Empire at the dawning of
the 20th century.
This theology is
preached by a small minority within the Charismatic movement. However, some
of the theology's most strident critics are also from within the Pentecostal
and Charismatic movements.
Some have claimed
that the non-Charismatic movement known as
Reconstructionism holds similar beliefs and that the two movements
largely complement one another. There are, however, some major differences.
Doctrines such as
theonomy
(the continued validity of the
Old Testament) and
Calvinism
(particularly
predestination and the sovereignty of God) are central to
Reconstructionist doctrine. Additionally, Reconstructionists nearly always
teach
cessationism, in opposition to the defining characteristics of the
Charismatic movement. Reconstructionists strongly disagree with many of the
doctrines of "Kingdom Now" theology and related theologies such as the
Latter Rain Movement and typically consider these movements to be heretical,
and are usually very critical of the
charismatic movement.
As I said earlier, the
end-time events include the coming of the antichrist, the 7
year tribulation, the Second Coming, and Christ ruling during
the 1000 years of peace...if you are a Premillennialist. But
if you are a Preterist or Historist you don't believe in any
of these prophesied events.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
2Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will
grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their
own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up
for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables.
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In
C. Peter Wagner's
book that is titled:
DOMINION!
Stumble It!