Posted on 08/27/2023 6:35:21 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Preterism is one of today’s popular views of the end times; its adherents among church staff continue to rapidly grow in number. Below is a list of its basic beliefs:
Nero was the Antichrist. There will be no future individual Antichrist. The Tribulation Period is already over. It occurred when the Roman army besieged Jerusalem in AD 66-70. Christ “returned” in the clouds in AD 70 to witness the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army. God replaced Old Testament Israel with the Church. Therefore, all the biblical promises to Israel belong to the Church. Armageddon already happened in AD 70. Satan is already bound in the abyss and cannot hinder the spread of the Gospel. Revelation 20 has already been fulfilled. We are already in the Millennium, but it is not literal. Some preterists equate the entire Church Age as the Millennium [as do other end time positions]. Some preterists believe in a bodily resurrection of the saints as described in 1 Corinthians 15:47-54 and Philippians 3:20-21, which necessitates, in their view, another return of the Savior. Many advocates of preterism don’t believe in a future bodily resurrection of the saints as described in these passages.
The popularity of a doctrine that believes Jesus fulfilled His Matthew 24:29-31 promise in AD 70 is just an initial cause for alarm. Below I describe other reasons why we must reject the teachings of preterism. It’s also because they . . .
Nullify What The Bible Says About Jesus’ Future Glory
In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus described His glorious return at which time everyone on earth will mourn as they see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” We see this magnificent display of dazzling supremacy recounted in Revelation 19:11-20:6.
To assert that an obscure vision of chariots clashing in the sky, which only one person reportedly saw, fulfilled these prophecies of Jesus’ breathtakingly spectacular return to earth, as the preterists do, makes no sense whatsoever.
To say that that this happened in AD 70 has a chilling impact on the glory that Scripture ascribes to Jesus at His Second Coming
Preterism also attacks Jesus’ glory by negating His future inheritance of the nations. Listen to what the Father promises the Son in Psalm 2:8-9: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
It’s clear from the context that these are physical nations with real kings. The promise of Psalm 2 as well as that of Isaiah 9:6-7 relate to a time when Jesus will physically govern the nations. Denying Jesus’ thousand-year reign cancels His future glory associated with both His return and kingship.
I believe that the most serious error of the preterists is that they do great damage to the Name of Jesus by placing His return to earth in AD 70.
Pour Cold Water On Our ‘Blessed Hope’
It’s abundantly clear throughout the New Testament that God intended our future expectation to be solely upon Jesus and His appearing at which time believers will receive glorified bodies (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:47-54), experience eternal victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:54-56; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, 4:13-5:11), and be caught up to forever be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This is the substance of our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14).
As New Testament saints, we have a glorious expectation rooted in the sure promise of Jesus’ appearing. Don’t let anyone pour ice-cold water on your joyous hope of meeting Jesus in the air. This day is surely coming.
Contradict What Scripture Reveals About God’s Character
I retired seven years ago to begin a fulltime studying and writing career devoted mainly to defending Jesus’ thousand-year reign and our expectation of His appearing before the seven-year Tribulation. I have recently come to the conclusion that if someone were to ask me why I’m so convinced of these things, I would begin my response this way:
The future and glorious restoration of Israel seamlessly aligns with what Scripture reveals regarding God’s character. I also know Jesus, who perfectly mirrors the Father, and He will rescue His bride, the body of Christ, before His wrath encompasses the earth. It’s what I know from Scripture about the Lord that confirms my belief in these things.
Of course, the words of Scripture solidly back up these beliefs and I would quickly go there in defending our “blessed hope.”
As for the return of future glory to the nation of Israel, which preterists soundly deny, the Lord makes it clear that He must fulfill His covenants and promises because of His holiness. In Exodus 32:11-14, Moses bases His argument for God to preserve His people, after they worshipped the golden calf, upon His character and reputation. In Ezekiel 36:22-38, the Lord copies Moses’ argument from Exodus 32 stating that His holiness demands the restoration of Israel as detailed in this wonderful passage.
Teachings that place the fulfillment of most end-time biblical prophecies in the past also contradict what the Bible tells us about our God. Isaiah 46:8-11 tells us that He loves to declare “the end from the beginning.” The vast number of prophecies relating to our day stem both from His great love for us and His shear delight at revealing the future from ancient times.
The One who prophesied about His Son defeating Satan all the way back in the garden of Eden is definitely not Someone who would leave us with no signs of the end times or without a clue as to when Jesus might appear.
Rest Upon An Untenable View Of Church History
Preterists maintain that John authored the book of Revelation in about AD 65. If the apostle penned it after AD 70 then preterism can’t possibly be true since John would be writing about the future return of the Lord after it took place.
It’s impossible, however, to maintain such an early date for the origin of the book. Writers in the early centuries of the church place John’s banishment to the Isle of Patmos and the writing of Revelation late in the reign of the Emperor Domitian, who ruled over Rome from AD 81-96. Irenaeus, who grew up in the church at Smyrna and later became a prominent leader and writer, stated that John wrote Revelation near the end of Domitian’s rule.
Irenaeus’ mentor in the faith, Polycarp, was not only a disciple of the Apostle John, but also most likely the one who would’ve read the book to the church at Smyrna. Surely Irenaeus would’ve known the date of its writing.
A question that preterists can’t answer is this: “Why did all the prominent leaders of the church during its first three centuries regard the Second Coming as a future event? Influential church fathers such as Papias (70-163), Irenaeus (130-202), Justyn Martyr (100-165), and Tertullian (155-240) all wrote regarding the future certainty of Jesus’ return to earth as well as His thousand-year reign over the nations. Until the time of Augustine in the fifth century AD, the church believed in Jesus’ future one-thousand year reign with few exceptions.
The testimony of church history makes preterism untenable. Besides the almost unanimous witness to the later date for the writing of Revelation, everyone in the early centuries of the church regarded Jesus’ return as a future event. How is it possible that the entire church missed Jesus’ return if it had already happened?
The idea that Jesus returned to earth in AD 70 didn’t even exist anywhere in the church until the seventeenth century when a disgruntled Jesuit Catholic priest, Luis de Alcazar, began teaching the past fulfillment of biblical prophecy associated with Jesus’ Second Coming.
Hurt The Saints
Preterism deprives New Testament saints of the blessedness of their “blessed hope.” It does so by turning the New Testament expectation of glory into one of certain death. During the past decade, I’ve heard several pastors say that all believers will die before Jesus returns even though the Bible says otherwise in I Corinthians 15:47-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Do you see how this not only blinds the eyes of believers, but also hurts them by shifting their attention away from Jesus’ appearing?
Preterists, as well as amillennialists, do considerable damage to the cause of Christ by ignoring myriad of signs pointing to Jesus’s soon arrival to take us home. They tell us that eschatological positions are “tertiary,” or of third-rate importance, and we must not talk about something so nonessential lest we upset someone.
Apart from what the Bible reveals about the end times and our hope, how do we deal with the massive number of deadly fires, the floods, and wholesale murder of multitudes, as well as innocents? How do we cope with such great wickedness apart from the Bible’s assurance that God is in control and that He will justly judge the world after He takes us up to glory?
It’s deeply troubling to anyone aware of the times in which we live. God’s Word relieves our fears in that it tells us the last days before the Tribulation would look like this and promises us that Jesus will appear to take us home before the start of the Day of the Lord’s wrath.
The end of the age wrap-up so prominent in both amillennialism and preterism beliefs keeps believers from hearing the biblically sound encouragement they so desperately need in today’s world. Such bland end-of-days scenario ignores the glories of Jesus’ Second Coming and His glorious rule over the nations. For us, it dampens our joyous expectation of His appearing as clearly annunciated in so many New Testament passages.
Biblical prophecy, as well as the book of Revelation, magnifies the person of Jesus from beginning to end. The teachings of preterism assign a far less glorious place to Jesus in the scheme of end time events. This is the key reason to reject it.
For New Testament saints drawn into this egregious error, it moves their hope away from Jesus’ appearing to the certainty of death leaving them to hope in things that will never calm their fears or enable them to cope with the terrors ahead should Jesus not come for His Church in the very near future.
Where to begin with the mangled lies of Preterism. Brentner does a very good job starting at the top and working down to all of it’s falsehoods.
I always like to throw sand in their gears when they insist Nero was the A/C - ok.
So how exactly did Nero enforce “His Mark” on Mayans, Chinese, Eskimos, and the San People of Africa?
Here is the verse in Revelation 13:16-18
16 And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
What great digital system did Nero have and how did his legions enforce it across the world when they didn’t even know it existed?
Mind-boggling the psychosis one has to have to buy into this!
Anyways...
End Times Ping
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Maranatha!!
We will be taken out before God pours out his wrath on the earth ..yes.. but when is that?
study to show thyself approved ...
I wanted to be a Catholic, but I couldn’t afford a good enough attorney. All of their theological treatises read like a brief in a securities fraud case. Turns out Jesus is rather simple.
The thing that truly IRRITATES me about the “teachings” (LOL) that claim 70 AD as the Return of Christ is that it is so selective.
It only incorporates a few aspects and points of Scripture.
Therefore, it is intellectually lazy and dishonest.
Bottom line, Heaven has not yet arrived on earth and the weeds are still here.
Do not believe any new “prophets.” Any preacher or scholar or new theory active since the 1960s should be viewed with particular suspicion or skepticism.
Luther’s sole goal was to translate the Bible in order that every man might read it for himself. the one thing that could not be done is dictate to each man the understanding of what is being read. THAT, my friends, is the job of the Holy Spirit. not you and not me. we can help for sure but do WE really understand ourselves? looking at how many different denominational beliefs are out there, I dare say NO! my personal mantra for many decades is simple...”you can’t TELL people what to believe. they don’t listen anyway”. the only way people will believe what you have to say is if you live what you say you believe.
Matthew 24…. Wars and rumors of war is not the end. Peace, peace, peace, is the opposite of war…. Fake Jesus is going to bring a fake peace for those who will bend a knee.. there has been a whole lot of practicing of bending the knee the past few years…..
Time is a getting short my brother, again, thanks for looking out for us! God bless you.
“bending the knee the past few years”
Yes indeed ...
gird your loins ... put on the whole armor ... it’s about to get real
For the most part, yes, I agree with you. There are only a few preachers I listen to anymore, and two of them have gone to their reward in Heaven. I listen to their pre-recorded messages!
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“I wanted to be Catholic...”
That’s Funny right there!
Yep. Stanley and Adrian Rogers are ones I listen. I keep that list very short.
“I listen to their pre-recorded messages!”
Same here. One I’m listening to felt the time was short back in the mid 80’s (though he didn’t harp on it). I keep thinking “Brother if you could only see where we are NOW!”
1-Nero was AN 'Antichrist', and it is clear there will be many.
2-The destruction of Jerusalem was the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy that this generation will not pass without seeing the destruction, but there is NO assertion against future Tribulations which are clearly to come.
3-"God replaced Old Testament Israel with the Church." is nonsense phrasing as Christ makes clear he has made a New Covenant, but has not changed the old law.
4-"Armageddon already happened in AD 70. Satan is already bound in the abyss and cannot hinder the spread of the Gospel."
This is taught NOWHERE in the church!
As stated before, there will certainly be future great Tribulations, and NOWHERE is it claimed the Satan is already bound and can't interfere with the spread of the Gospel!
5-Rev. 20 HAS NOT 'already been fulfilled'!
6-There IS a bodily resurrection after "the Second Coming of Christ'! (Not a 3rd as would be supposed by Rapturists)
Bless you brother!
I would certainly agree with your statement on the surface.
Too many hollowed out folks with new gospels, new “discoveries”, new secret “texts” being presented these days.
There is massive confusion out there, and it’s by design.
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