|
WWW.NATE4ONENATION.COM |
||||
|
What is a Preterist? preterist \Pret"er*ist\, n. [Pref. preter- + -ist.] 1. One whose chief interest is in the past; one who regards the past with most pleasure or favor. 2. (Theol.) One who
believes the prophecies of the Apocalypse to have been already fulfilled.
--Farrar. A Christian! This term does not equal a heretic in the light of the Word of God though many would disagree. A true Christian who holds a "preterist" view of eschatology has no choice but to believe in the infallibility of the Word of God. It is based on this premise that we derive our view of past fulfillment of "all that is written.." A Christian who holds the preterist view of eschatology, believes that Christ returned exactly how and when He said He would. In the lifetime of His contemporaries. It was clear until the last near 200 years to almost all theologians that Christ and His Apostles taught an imminent coming in Judgment and Salvation. Judgment for the wicked and Salvation for the Christian. When reading the scripture it is impossible to deny that they taught all their contemporaries to be watchful for the "at hand", "quickly" approaching and "soon" coming of our Savior. Did they lie or were they just wrong? Either way it spells "UNINSPIRED!" This charge needs to be taken as the most serious any could make against God's holy word. If they were wrong about this, they could be wrong about the way to salvation itself. John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. No, far be it from them. I hold they were right. The bible declares they were to be led into all truth by the Spirit. John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. I must address a cover up beginning to take place. The modern dispensationalist's have gone out of their way to twist what it was the Apostles were actually preaching. They try to defend the inspiration of scripture by insisting the Apostle's knew they were speaking to future generations. Therefore they were not wrong nor did they lie. They dispensationalize every passage before a "time text" in the Bible to insist the Apostles were well aware of the delayed coming. This however cannot escape them from the fact that many Christians who were receiving these Epistles and Gospels would not be so "in tune" to these dispensational passages and would be deceived by these warnings and urgencies. So let's get to the "meat" of the matter. Christ made a few very simple and compelling statement's concerning His return to earth in judgment. Matthew 16:28 - Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. A dispensationalist will ignore the entire context of this Chapter 16 verses 21-27 which discusses the "second coming" of Christ and place this verse as a precursor to the Transfiguration. Christ however, in also fitting with the context of the whole New Testament, only referred to "coming in His kingdom" when referring to His "second coming" everywhere else in scripture. Verse 28 of Chapter 16 is clearly a statement that some of those disciples would still be alive at Christ's ""second coming." Christ was also to return in judgment at the same time of His "second coming." Daniel 12 states that the resurrection would follow the "power of the holy people" being "shattered." Daniel 12:6 And I said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?" 7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven; and I heard him swear by him who lives for ever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time; and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. The "things" to be finished in Daniel 12 are the resurrection which is also spoken of in Revelation 20. The finality of that one event was depending on the "shattering" of the holy people's power. Christ was a little more specific. Matthew 23:30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah the son of Barachi'ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. Christ not only further prophesied the "shattering" of the holy people, who were at that time the Jews, but also further declared the temple being left to them "desolate." One more important key. He declared Daniel 12 to come upon THAT generation. If this is not enough, He declared the "great tribulation" also to be during THAT generation in Matthew 24: Matthew 24:34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Luke 21 sums up Christ's main time statements with it's link of Daniel 12, Matthew 23 and Matthew 24 as all being for the same purpose and during the same generation, theirs! Luke 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Remember, the days of vengeance were specified by Christ in the Matthew 23 passage as coming upon those very Scribes and Pharisees. The Apostles also preached Christ's coming as being during their life time in these following verses. James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. 1 John 2:18 - Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour. Revelation 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near. There is no denying that the Apostles were preaching an imminent coming of Christ to their contemporaries. When were all these things fulfilled? By no coincidence, between 66-70 AD, within Christ's contemporaries generation, the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem and over a 3 1/2 year time period, waged war with the Jews and in 70 AD finally and utterly shattered the "power of the holy people" by destroying the temple and leaving not one stone upon another (Matthew 23:38, 24:2). The horrible war, as described by Josephus, a noted Jewish historian, was the worst any nation had encountered until that point. He also declared that due to the wickedness of the Jews, they were being ultimately punished by God. The horrors he described, as an eye witness and through many other eye witnesses, about this time period, leaves no stone unturned in our search to prove once and for all that Christ did complete the work of salvation by returning when and how He said He would. In the clouds before His generation had died out! If you are not fully convinced yet, I have a "Links" page which can direct you to some great sites containing some awesome study material. I am also working to build a "Study" site in which I will post some of my own and other's humble opinions on what is left for us, the New Covenant Christian in today's everlasting age, and also how some of those mind blowing prophecies could have been fulfilled. If anything, I pray you are challenged to study what I have presented to you and do so with prayer and a sober mind. Many of us have been trained to automatically assume there is some hard coded pattern to all scripture. I find this point of view on eschatology to not only be the best answer to a diverse question "When will Christ return", but also a code breaker for the rest of scripture. Some of the hardest passages to understand become so clear when you read the Bible in it's proper "time" context. May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you in your search for the truth of His word. AMEN! Contact me with what is on your mind at:
|