Where Is The United States in End-time Prophecy? (Pastor Greg Laurie)

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Where Is The United States in End-time Prophecy? (Pastor Greg Laurie)
Pastor Greg Laurie is at the top of my list of great Bible teachers. I’ve listened to him a lot of my lifetime. In his blog (and I urge you to go there) he has a treasure trove of short thought-provoking messages from God’s word. Here’s an example. What part does the United States play in end–time prophecy? This is such an important message. Please allow me to share it with you right now.


Where Is The United States in End-time Prophecy? (Pastor Greg Laurie)

 

 

Where Is The United States in End-time Prophecy? (Pastor Greg Laurie)

Part 1: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

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Part 1: Were all of Jesus’ end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

HAS BIBLE PROPHECY
ALREADY BEEN FULFILLED?

by Thomas Ice

(icet@711online.net)

 

“The Olivet Discourse is not about the Second Coming of Christ. It is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.” –David Chilton (Preterist)

“The Book of Revelation is not about the Second Coming of Christ. It is about the destruction of Israel and Christ’s victory over His enemies in the establishment of the New Covenant Temple. In fact, as we shall see, the word coming as used in the Book of Revelation never refers to the Second Coming. Revelation prophesies the judgment of God on apostate Israel; and while it does briefly point to events beyond its immediate concerns, that is done merely as a “wrap-up,” to show that the ungodly will never prevail against Christ’s Kingdom. But the main focus of Revelation is upon events which were soon to take place.” –David Chilton (Preterist)

In February 1999 I attended the Ligonier Ministries National Conference with about 4,000 other people in Orlando, Florida. Ligonier is the ministry of Dr. R. C. Sproul. I attended because for the first time in 30 years the topic was on Bible Prophecy. Guess what? The predominate view, led by Dr. Sproul, was that most of what you and I believe to be future prophecies have already been fulfilled by first century events. This view now being champion by Dr. Sproul and others is known as Preterism.

WHEN WILL PROPHECY BE FULFILLED?

What is Preterism? Before I explain that in more detail, I want to orient you to the four views that people hold in relation to the timing of prophetic fulfillment. The four views are simple in the sense that they reflect the only four possible ways that one can relate to time: past, present, future, and timeless. When speaking of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy these four timing possibilities are called Preterism, historicism, futurism, and idealism.

The preterist (Latin for “past”) believes that most, if not all prophecy has already been fulfilled, usually in relation to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Thehistoricist (present) sees much of the current church age as equal to the tribulation period. Thus, prophecy has been and will be fulfilled during the current church age.Futurists (future) usually believe that almost no prophetic events are occurring in the current church age, but will take place in the following future events: the tribulation of seven years, the second coming, the 1,000 year millennium, and the eternal state. This is the view that I and those who are dispensationalists hold to. The idealist(timeless) does not believe either that the Bible indicates the timing of events or that we can determine their timing in advance. Therefore, idealists see prophetic passages as teaching great truths about God to be applied to our present lives.

PRETERISM VS. FUTURISM

Idealism, as an approach to Bible prophecy, is rarely followed outside of liberal scholarship and thus is not a significant factor in the mainstream of current evangelical debate over when prophecy will be fulfilled. Historicism, once the dominate view of Protestants from the Reformation until the middle of last century, appears to exert little attraction as a system of prophetic interpretation to conservative Christians, outside of Seventh-Day Adventist circles. However, it must be noted that most historicists take a preterist view of the Olivet Discourse, but disassociate it from the tribulation as found in Revelation and some New Testament Epistles. During the last 150 years, within evangelicalism, futurism has grown to dominate and overcome historicism. At the turn of the millennium, we see an attempt to challenge futurism arising from evangelical Preterism. We must await the next millennium to see where this development will lead. But the last five to ten years have seen an increase in the ranks of Preterism, from hundreds to thousands, as someone as well-known as R.C. Sproul has adopted this view.

WHAT IS PRETERISM

Preterists argue that major prophetic portions of Scripture such as the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Revelation were fulfilled in events surrounding the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Preterists believe that they are compelled to take such a view because Matthew 24:34 and its parallel passages say that “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” This means it had to take place in the first century, they argue. Revelation, they advocate, says something similar in the passages that say Christ is coming “quickly” or that His return is “at hand.” Having settled in their mind that these prophecies had to take place in the first century, they believe they are justified in making the rest of the language fit into a local (Jerusalem), instead of a worldwide fulfillment. Most Preterists believe that we are currently living in at least an inaugurated new heavens and new earth, since all the Book of Revelation had to have a first century fulfillment.

Three Kinds of Preterism

There are at least three kinds of Preterism. For lack of better terms we will call them mild, moderate, and extreme.

o 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.

o 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.

o EXTREME Preterists, or consistent Preterists, as they prefer to be known as, 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.

I have never personally encountered a mild preterist. I have only met them in books like Isbon T. Beckwith’s The Apocalypse of John. Today, most of those calling themselves Preterists would fall into the moderate camp. R. C. Sproul, Kenneth Gentry, Gary DeMar, Gary North, and Greg Bahnsen belong in this group. However, extreme Preterism is growing and has made noticeable gains in recent years. Although David Chilton’s books on Preterism are from the moderate perspective, he did convert to extreme Preterism before his death a few years ago. Other extreme Preterists include: Max King, John Bray, Ed Stevens, and Walt Hibbard.

STRANGE PRETERIST IMPLICATIONS

The preterist understanding greatly affects events, personalities, and chronologies. If Preterism is true, (it is not) then what a different view of the past and future there would be than what we have been led to believe up to this point.. If it is true, then what a vastly different view of Christianity it would produce. The following list includes many of the strange beliefs that Preterism yields:

o The Great Tribulation “took place in the Fall of Israel. It will not be repeated and thus is not a future event.”

o 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.”

o 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.”

o The Antichrist “is a term used by John to describe the widespread apostasy of the Christian Church prior to the Fall of Jerusalem. In general, any apostate teacher or system can be called ‘antichrist’; but the word does not refer to some ‘future Fuhrer."”

o The Rapture is “the ‘catching up’ of the living saints ‘to meet the Lord in the air.’ The Bible does not teach any separation between the Second Coming and the Rapture; they are simply different aspects of the Last Day.”

o The Second Coming “coinciding with the Rapture and the Resurrection, will take place at the end of the Millennium, when history is sealed at the Judgment.”

o The Beast “of Revelation was a symbol of both Nero in particular and the Roman Empire in general.”

o The False Prophet “of Revelation was none other than the leadership of apostate Israel, who rejected Christ and worshiped the Beast.”

o The Great Harlot of Revelation was “Jerusalem which had always been . . . falling into apostasy and persecuting the prophets . . . which had ceased to be the City of God.”

o The Millennium “is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which He established at His First Advent. . . . the period between the First and Second Advents of Christ; the Millennium is going on now, with Christians reigning as kings on earth.” “Other postmillennialists interpret the millennium as a future stage of history. Though the kingdom is already inaugurated, there will someday be a greater outpouring of the Spirit than the church has yet experienced.”

o The First Resurrection of Revelation 20:5 is a “Spiritual resurrection: our justification and regeneration in Christ.”

o The Thousand Years of Revelation 20:2-7 is a “large, rounded-off number. . . . the number ten contains the idea of a fullness of quantity; in other words, it stands formanyness. A thousand multiplies and intensifies this (10 X 10 X 10), in order to express great vastness. . . . represent a vast, undefined period of time . . . It may require a million years.”

o The New Creation “has already begun: The Bible describes our salvation in Christ, both now and in eternity, as ‘a new heaven and a new earth."”

o Israel In contrast to the eventual faithfulness and empowerment by the Holy Spirit of the Church, “ethnic Israel was excommunicated for its apostasy and will never again be God’s Kingdom.” Thus, “the Bible does not tell of any future plan for Israel as a special nation.” The Church is now that new nation (Matt. 21:43) which is why Christ destroyed the Jewish state. “In destroying Israel, Christ transferred the blessings of the kingdom from Israel to a new people, the church.”

o The New Jerusalem “the City of God, is the Church, now and forever.”

o The Final Apostasy refers to Satan’s last gasp in history (Rev. 20:7-10). “The Dragon will be released for a short time, to deceive the nations in his last-ditch attempt to overthrow the Kingdom.” This will be “in the far future, at the close of the Messianic age,” shortly before the Second Coming.

o Armageddon “was for St. John a symbol of defeat and desolation, a ‘Waterloo’ signifying the defeat of those who set themselves against God, who obey false prophets instead of the true.” “There never was or will be a literal ‘Battle of Armageddon,’ for there is no such place.”

Preterists contend that most of the biblical passages that I would see as future have already been fulfilled in the first century. R. C. Sproul has adopted this view in his recent book The Last Days According To Jesus. Why are an increasing number of evangelicals coming to what I strongly believe is an erroneous conclusion?

HELPING GOD

In the introduction of his book on prophecy, Dr. Sproul believes that he is helping to save biblical Christianity from liberal skeptics like Bertrand Russell and Albert Schweitzer by adopting a preterist interpretation of Bible prophecy. “One of Russell’s chief criticisms of the Jesus portrayed in the Gospels is that Jesus was wrong with respect to the timing of his future return,” notes Dr. Sproul. “At issue for Russell is the time-frame reference of these prophecies. Russell charges that Jesus failed to return during the time frame he had predicted.” Dr. Sproul, along with many other Preterists, answers this charge from liberals by saying that Jesus did return in the first century. He returned spiritually through the acts of the Roman army who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70.

I do not believe you fight liberalism with liberalism. Dr. Sproul believes that he is defending the integrity of Scripture by adopting the preterist interpretation. However, in reality, I believe that he is adopting a naturalistic interpretation that too many liberals feel at home with. While Dr. Sproul sees Matthew 24 as a prophecy that was fulfilled in the first century, liberal Preterists joins him in giving a naturalistic explanation even though from a different framework. But they both deny that our Lord prophesied a supernatural, bodily, visible return of Christ in fulfillment of Matthew 24.

On the other hand, Dr. Sproul and other Preterists would not have a supposed problem that they and liberals seem to think they have if they adopted the approach of dispensationalism which distinguishes between the rapture that could take place without warning at any moment and the second coming which will be preceded by the signs of Matthew 24. True, many of the post-Apostolic fathers believed that Jesus would come back soon, but the New Testament teaches that Christ’s coming in the clouds to rapture His church is imminent (1 Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 1:10; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:13; Jude 21; cf. Matt. 24:45-47; Mk. 13:33-37; Lk. 12:35-40), an event that could have taken place at any time during the last 2,000 years. Thus, Scripture does not need to be rescued from the higher critics by adopting the preterist interpretation.

THREE PRETERIST PROOF TEXTS

Dr. Sproul and other Preterists often teach that there are three major passages in Matthew that demand a first century fulfillment. The three verses are Matthew 10:23; 16:28; and 24:34. I will examine this triad of texts in the order in which they appear in Matthew and demonstrate why they do not support a first century, preterist fulfillment.

Matthew 10:23
“But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.”

“Again, if Russell is correct in concluding that the coming referred to in this text is the parousia of Christ, then the primary time-frame for the parousia must be restricted to a forty-year period,” writes Dr. Sproul. “It surely did not take the disciples much more than forty years to cover the boundaries of Palestine with the gospel message.” This view is not defended in his book; instead Dr. Sproul merely asserts it as a supposition, taking J. Stuart Russell’s word for it. Russell tells us, “our Lord probably intended to intimate, that the apostles would not finish evangelizing the towns of Palestine, before He should come to destroy Jerusalem and scatter the nation.” Does the plain reading of this passage teach us what Preterists say? I don’t believe it does.

First, the time of fulfillment for this passage depends upon establishing the context for which our Lord envisioned its realization. Even J. Stuart Russell believes that there is “abundant warrant for assigning the important prediction contained in Matt. x. 23 to the discourse delivered on the Mount of Olives.” He explains that, “It is an admitted fact that even the Synoptic Gospels do not relate all events in precisely the same order; . . . Dr. Blaikie observes: ‘It is generally understood that Matthew arranged his narrative more by subjects and places than by chronology."” I am in agreement at this point that the context is that of the Olivet Discourse, even though we disagree as to when that period takes place. Thus, to a large extent, a discussion of the time when Matthew 10:23 is to be fulfilled must be postponed until interpretative decisions are made concerning other passages such as Matthew 24.

Second, when consulting a harmony of the Gospels, it becomes evident that the other uses of the vocabulary from the context of Matthew 10:16-23 parallels in the Synoptic Gospels the various versions of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 17 and 21). In fact, the New Geneva Study Bible, of which Dr. Sproul is the General Editor says of this passage, “The ‘coming’ is the Second Coming of Christ to judge the earth. This view fits most of the other occurrences of the phrase (24:30; 25:31; 26:64; but see 16:28).” This information supports the conclusion from the previous point that the timing of the fulfillment of this passage is tied to the Olivet Discourse.

Third, all agree that there is no indication in Scripture that the disciples experienced the kind of persecution mentioned in this passage before the crucifixion of Christ. J. Stuart Russell admits, “There is no evidence that the disciples met with such treatment on their evangelistic tour.” Thus, this sustains the conclusion to which we are building: that our Lord has a future time in mind when He speaks the words of this passage.

Fourth, I believe that Matthew 10:21-23 refers to events that will take place in the tribulation, climaxing in the glorious second coming of Christ because of the nature of the vocabulary. This point could not be made any clearer than has been stated by the Reformed commentator, William Hendriksen:

These explanations ignore the fact that in the other Matthew passages in which the coming of the Son of man is mentioned and described the reference is linked with the second coming. It is a coming “in the glory of his Father,” “with his angels,” “to render to every man according to his deed” (16:27, 28); a coming when Christ shall “sit on the throne of his glory” (19:28); a coming that will be “visible” (24:27); “sudden and unexpected” (24:37.39.44); a coming “on clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (24:30; cf. 25:31; 26:64). It would be strange therefore if from 10:23 any reference to Christ’s exaltation which attains its climax in the second coming would be wholly excluded. . . . The destruction of Jerusalem is predicted not here in chapter 10 but in 22:7; 23:38; see also 24:2, 15 f.”

Fifth, the use of the title “Son of Man” “‘has a definite doctrinal signification-it always refers to the (Parousia) Second Coming.’ The phrase, so expressive of His humanity, indicates a visible, personal Coming, which was not exhibited at the destruction of Jerusalem. Beside this, all expecting John were deceased before the city was overthrown.” 

John Calvin is correct when he notes of those who suggest that Matthew 10:23 was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem “is too far-fetched.” Some have suggested that the coming of the Son of Man refers to Christ’s Triumphal Entry (Matt. 21:1-11; Lk. 19:39-44) George Peters notes that “This took place before the disciples had made the tour of the cities, and meets the conditions of the passage” It is noted that Matthew 21:9, speaking of Christ, says, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” While this view has much to commend, it does not handle the persecution aspects of the passage, which did not occur in relation to the Triumphal Entry. Instead, I believe that Matthew 10:21-23 refers to a still future time of tribulation and the second
How should this passage be explained?

The apostles never completed their kingdom ministry before they turned to the Gentiles. This was because Israel did not receive their message. This thought is developed throughout the remainder of chapter 10 and in chapter 11, in which Jesus finally castigates Israel, withdraws the message of national deliverance and turns to individuals with an offer of salvation in Mt. 11:28-30.

Dr. Stanley Toussaint further explains,

The Messiah was simply looking past His death to the time of tribulation following. At the time the disciples would have the same message and possibly the same power. The narrow road leading to the kingdom leads through the tribulation (Matthew 10:16), and this persecution is to be of a religious and political nature (Matthew 10:16-19). . . .

The Lord made no error and clearly had “the coming” for judgment in mind. However, the coming is contingent upon Israel’s acceptance of its King. Because even after His resurrection, that nation refused Him, it became impossible to establish the kingdom (cf. Acts 3:18-26). In fact, the tribulation period did not come; if it had, the promise of the soon coming of the Son of Man would have been of great comfort to the apostles.

Matthew 10:23 does not support the preterist contention that the coming of the Son of Man occurred in A.D. 70 through the Roman Army. Instead, Christ was looking ahead to another time, the tribulation leading up to the glorious second advent which I believe will be made clearer as we investigate related passages.

Endnotes:

[1] Kenneth L. Gentry, “The Days of Vengeance: A Review Article”, The Counsel of Chalcedon, Vol. IX, No. 4., p. 11.

[2] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, v. xxx. 3

[3] See Mark Hitchcock, “The Stake in the Heart-The a.d. 95 Date of Revelation,” in Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice, editors, The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming Under Attack (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2003), pp. 126-28.

[4] Mark Hitchcock, “Date of Revelation,” in Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2004), p. 337.

[5] The following points are gleaned from Mark Hitchcock’s, “Date of Revelation,” pp. 337-38.

[6] Hitchcock, “Date of Revelation,” p. 337.

[7] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, [1910], 1971), vol. I, p. 425.

[8] Hitchcock, “Date of Revelation,” p. 338.

Part 1: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 4: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

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Part 4:  Were all of Jesus’ end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.? by Thomas Ice

This will be the final part of the article by Thomas Ice that examines the belief called “pretrerism” that everything prophesied by Jesus was fulfilled by 70 A.D. Preterists believe that we are already living on the New Earth and that this is a time of peace and rest for God’s people. The major teacher of preterism is RC Sproul, and he and others who agree with him are growing in number today. Do you believe that the world is going through a great time of peace and rest? If not, what biblical answers could you give to those who believe it is? is Christ coming back for the Church or are we stranded on this utopia until we die? Is Satan bound or loosed? If he is bound why is there suffering? Ray will conclude the answers to these questions now. You are invited to join him.

 Satan: Bound or Loose?

The preterist view relating to the current work of Satan and the demons should reflect their theology on the subject. According to the preterist view, Satan is currently bound (Rev. 20:2-3) and crushed (Rom. 16:20). The enemy was not just defeated de jure (legally) at the cross, but has been crushed de facto (in fact). Therefore, the spiritual road blocks of the world and the devil have been removed and only the enemy of the flesh remains that would obstruct believers from reigning and ruling now in the New Heavens and New Earth.

On the other hand, if the binding and crushing of Satan and his company is still future, then the commands in the Epistles make sense in this present age. Commands such as “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7b). “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9). “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27). “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly place” (Ephesians 6:12). These are instructions which are the very tactics to be applied by the believer in this present age because we are not yet in the New Heavens and New Earth. If Satan is bound and crushed, as the preterist interpretation insists, then they are unfaithful to their understanding of Scripture to apply the above passages to the Christian life today, as they so often do. A crushed and bound enemy does not prowl, or wage war, etc. This becomes crystal clear when one realizes that Satan resumes his war with God only after he has been “released from his prison” (Revelation 20:7b).

Similar thinking could, even should, be applied from the implications of Preterism to many passages and subjects in the Christian life. Just think. No more suffering. If no suffering, then no need for endurance. No need for the sanctification process which involves suffering, endurance, faith and hope. No hope, because Christ returned in A.D. 70 and ushered in a new day. No apostasy of the church. No pain, suffering, or death. Therefore, since we are obviously not living under such conditions it means that Preterism is also wrong.

The Sufferings Of This Present Time

The New Heavens and New Earth is to be a time of peace and rest for God’s people. The era preceding this time will be one of suffering and struggle. Again, if the preterist interpretation is correct, then the instruction of the NT Epistles on the issue of suffering only directly applied to believers until A.D. 70, because we would now be in the time of peace, not “the sufferings of this present time” spoken of by Paul (Rom. 8:18).

Endurance of unjust suffering is a major theme in the Epistles. In fact, the NT paints it as one of the major ingredients which God brings into our life to produce Christ-like character in His children (Heb. 12:1-17). Peter notes, “For this [unjust suffering] finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. . . . But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (1 Pet. 2:19-20). Revelation promises a future reward of co-rulership with Christ to believers who have remained faithful and loyal to Christ during this present age of humiliation (Rev. 3:21; see also 2:25-28). Revelation 3:21 not only promises future rule with Christ after this current age of humiliation, but notice it also makes a distinction between Christ’s future kingdom and the Father’s current rule. “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”These passages do not make sense and certainly would not apply to today if we are in the New Heavens and New Earth of the Preterists.

Present and Future Apostasy?

“If Preterism is true,” says Gary North, “then most of the prophesied negative sanctions in history are over” I would say, if futurism is true, then great apostasy lies ahead. Does the current church age become increasingly apostate concluding with “the Great Apostasy” during the Tribulation, or were the scores of passages speaking about apostasy fulfilled in A.D. 70, as Preterism demands? “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,” declares preterist David Chilton.

This is another area where large sections of the NT, especially the Epistles and Revelation, would have to be adjusted away from the meaning Christians have historically seen in those passages. An example of this is seen in how the different approaches would handle Paul’s warning in 2 Timothy 3. Paul begins by saying that“in the last days difficult times will come” (3:1). The “last days” likely refers to the whole of the current Church age, or perhaps it is a general reference to the final portion of the current Church age. Either way, it is a reference to the period of time before the final phase of history which Preterists say we are not in. Paul goes on to describe how these times will be characterized by men who “will be lovers of self,” . . . (3:2) “rather than lovers of God” (3:4). The general course of “the last days” are described as a time when “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (3:12-13). Therefore, if “the last days” have already come and gone, we should expect that the persecution of the godly should be absent and “evil men and impostors” should not “proceed from bad to worse.” According to Preterism, this would directly apply to the events before A.D. 70, but not after that time.

Apostasy increases, not decreases, during the current church age. Because Preterism is errant, then they have to take a theoretical interpretation on this and most other NT doctrine that is so far out that even the inventive minds of Preterists cannot apply them in our current age. It is clear that the preterist interpretation of NT prophecy is so far removed from what the Bible teaches because it is impossible to practically apply their teaching in our current age.

WHY FUTURISM IS THE BIBLICAL POSITION

In answering the challenges of Preterism I want to give a brief defense of Futurism. Futurism is the view that understands prophetic events like the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming and the millennium as future to the time in which we are now living. In fact, D. H. Kromminga notes that “preterist and the futurist methods, or approaches stand at opposite extremes.” Indeed they do! I believe that it can be demonstrated that futurism is the approach intended by God when He gave us His Word.

LITERAL INTERPRETATION

Consistent literal interpretation of the Bible leads any interpreter who applies this approach to the futurist understanding of prophecy. By “literal,” I mean a normal reading of the text that allows for figures of speech, the historical and contextual understanding of a passage. E. R. Craven explains:

The Literalist is not one who denies that figurative language, that symbols, are used in prophecy, nor does he deny that great spiritual truths are set forth therein; his position is, simply, that the prophecies are to be normally interpreted (i.e. according to the received laws of language) as any other utterances are interpreted-that which is manifestly literal being regarded as literal.
Preterists, on the other hand, while interpreting passages that appear to fit their scheme literally (i.e., Luke 21:20-24), overall tend to allegorize key texts (i.e., Matt. 24:29-31). Allegorization occurs when an interpreter brings into a text a meaning (based upon ideas) from outside the text. Thus, their interpretation cannot be supported from a normal reading of the words and phrases. A preterist example is seen when they make the word “coming” (i.e., Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7) to mean a non-physical, non-bodily event. This is done, not by demonstrating that “coming” must mean that from the context, but by importing foreign concepts from other sources into a given passage. This is not a valid form of interpretation. Further, E. W. Bullinger tells us in his book, which is the most extensive analysis of biblical figures of speech in English, that “Allegory is always stated in the past tense, and never in the future. Allegory is thus distinguished from prophecy. The allegory brings other teaching out of past events, while the prophecy tells us events that are yet to come, and means exactly what is said.”

A. J. Gordon, reporting on the views of a converted Jew named Joseph Rabinowitz wrote over 100 years ago the following:

Without a clear proclamation of the second advent, Christians have no common ground on which to meet the Jew; that to spiritualize this doctrine, as many do, is fatal, since the predictions are so clear of a glorious and conquering Messiah as well as a suffering Messiah. If you spiritualize the second advent, you must allow the Jew to spiritualize the first, as he is always ready to do, and you have no basis on which to reason with him.

Futurism is the natural outgrowth of the consistent literal interpretation of Scripture. This is the accepted approach to hermeneutics by all orthodox interpreters, except when some come to Bible prophecy. Thus, literal or natural interpretation is a support for futurism.

GOD’S PROPHETIC ROAD MAP

Deuteronomy provides a prophetic road map covering the whole of history before Israel started down the road about 3400 years ago. As the nation of Israel sat perched on the banks of the Jordan River, before she ever set one foot upon the Promised Land, the Lord gave an outline of her entire history through His mouthpiece Moses. Deuteronomy is this revelation and it is like a road map for where history is headed before the trip got underway. While different segments of the historical journey have been updated with more details being added along the way, not a single adjustment from the earlier course has ever been made.
In the process of Moses’ exhortation to the nation of Israel, he provides in Deuteronomy 4:25-31 an outline of what will happen to this elect nation once they cross over the Jordan River and settle the promised land. A summary of these events would be as follows:

1) Israel and her descendants would remain long in the land.
2) Israel would act corruptly and slip into idolatry.
3) Israel would be kicked out of the land.
4) The LORD will scatter them among the nations.
5) Israel would be given over to idolatry during their wanderings.
6) While dispersed among the nations, Israel would seek and find the LORD when they search for Him will all their heart.
7) There would come a time of tribulation, said to occur in the latter days, during which time they would turn to the LORD
8) “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:31).

If the first five events have happened to Israel-and no evangelical interpreter would deny that they have-then it is clear from the text that the final events will also occur to the same people in the same way as the earlier events. This is most clear from the context. The Bible does not “change horses in midstream” so that suddenly Israel, who has received the curses, is dropped out of the picture and the church takes over and receives the blessings. Despite various systems of the theology, the Bible nowhere teaches that God has forsaken Israel (cf. Rom. 11:1). Any reader of the text will have to admit that the same identity is referred to throughout the whole of the text under examination. If it is true that the same Israel is meant throughout the text, then the last three events have yet to be fulfilled for Israel in the same historical way in which the first five events are recognized by all to have taken place. Thus, a fulfillment of the final three events in the life of Israel will have to happen in the future. This passage in Deuteronomy 4 pictures a return to the Lord after Tribulation, not judgment. This means that a futurist view of prophecy is supported from this early passage and throughout the rest of Scripture.

As significant as Deuteronomy 4 is in establishing the prophetic history of God’s elect people, an expanded narrative of Israel’s future history is provided in Deuteronomy 28-32. “The last seven chapter of Deuteronomy (28-34),” says David Larsen, “are really the matrix out of which the great prophecies of the Old Testament regarding Israel emerge.” Dr. Larsen provides the following breakdown of Israel’s future history:

26:3-13; 28:1-14	The conditions of blessing to follow obedience
31:16-21	The coming apostasy
28:15-60	The affliction that God would bring upon Israel, while still in the land, because of her apostasy
28:32-39, 48-57	Israel will be taken captive
27; 32	The enemies of Israel will possess her land for a time
28:38-42; 29:23	The land itself will remain desolate
28:63-67; 32:26	Israel will be scattered among the nations
28:62	The time will come when Israel will be “few in number”
28:44-45	Though punished, Israel will not be destroyed if she repents
28:40-41; 30:1-2	Israel will repent in her tribulation
30:3-10	Israel will be gathered from the nations and brought back to her divinely given land

The final few events summarized above by Dr. Larsen certainly did not take place during the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem, nor at any time in history yet past. It appears to be shaping up that while the A.D. 70 incident was indeed a prophesied event, the remaining items in Israel’s prophetic roadmap have not yet been fulfilled. What is sad about the preterist interpretation is that it recognizes on the curses upon Israel, but not the future blessings that God has also promised. Preterism says that Israel gets the curses but the church gets Israel’s blessings. That’s not what the Bible says. And in order for the blessings for Israel to literally occur, just as the past and present curses have occurred literally, they must take place in the future. Dr. Harton concludes:

“Inasmuch as Deuteronomy 28-30 is merely a restatement and amplification of this same promise in Deuteronomy 4, it may be concluded that Deuteronomy 28:15-68 will have an eschatological fulfillment.”

DEUTERONOMY 28 AS PROPHECY

After having enumerated the relatively short list of blessings that God would bestow upon Israel in the land (Deut. 28:1-14), Moses commences to enumerate the much longer list of curses that God will inflict upon His people when they would inevitably disobey (vv. 28:15-68). The Lord would start inflicting the nation with mild curses at the inception of disobedience and gradually turn up the heat as insubordination persisted. The most severe chastisement the Lord would inflict upon His wayward people would be expulsion from their land mediated through the agency of a foreign invader (vv. 49-68). The Lord’s logic is something along the line that if Israel did not want to obediently serve Him in their own land then they could go and serve other gods outside the land (vv. 47-48).

Interestingly, verses 49-68 record two specific instances of removal from the Land. The first reference is clearly to the Babylonian captivity, which took place in the sixth century B.C. (vv. 49-57). For example, when verse 49 speaks of “a nation” that the Lord would bring against Israel in judgment. This is followed by a second statement of dispersion (v. 64) which says, “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.” This was undoubtedly fulfilled by the Romans when they destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Luke 21:24, which speaks of the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem, says that the Jewish people “will be led captive into all the nations;” a statement which reflects the language of Deuteronomy 28:64. Thus, we see two different instances of the judgment of God’s covenantal curse being worked out in history. But neither of them means that predictions of all future prophecy have already been fulfilled.

We have seen thus far, from our prophetic road map, that Deuteronomy 28 has predicted two different instances when the ultimate covenant curse of expulsion from the land will be applied to national Israel. However, we have also noted that Deuteronomy 28-30 indicates that some future events will come after Israel has been regathered back into the land and Jerusalem; then God will bring to pass the tribulation. Thus, since the second covenantal dispersion in A.D. 70 by the Romans led to Israel’s scattering among the nations, then that could not have been the tribulation which is to take place after a regathering. This would make the tribulation and other prophesied events to still be future eschatological events.

FUTURISM IMPLICATIONS

If we could take the time to study the rest of the Old Testament we would find that it is an expansion, consistent with the early prophetic roadmap, of God’s prophetic plan. Dozens of passages predict a glorious future for Israel. If these texts are taken literally and historically then they have to have a future fulfillment. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse and in the Revelation, in concert with the Old Testament, also expands upon, but is consistent with, that prophetic roadmap begun in Deuteronomy. Our Lord predicts a literal and thus future time of glory and blessing for Israel. Unless one just arbitrarily imports the theology of the church replacing Israel into many key texts, it is clear that hundreds of prophecies still speak of a literal and thus future fulfillment. I think it becomes clear that futurism is the only approach that makes sense of the Bible and its prophecies. While the Bible speaks of a wonderful past, we cannot hide the fact that the best is yet to come!

CONCLUSION

Like many of the arguments presented by Preterists, they appear to have some initial merit when looked at by the Biblically uneducated, but upon closer examination prove to be without merit. Preterists falsely built upon the misguided assumption, that they attempt to “prove” from various proof texts, that Bible prophecy had to have its fulfillment within about 40 years of Christ’s first advent. There are many implications, both theological and practical, that would require a major adjustment to the Christian faith if they are right. Since their arguments are incorrect, so are the implications that flow from such thought. Because of the recent spread of Preterism, pastors and teachers need to be prepared to defend orthodox eschatology from this attack. Those who believe that Christ came in A.D. 70 will certainly not be found looking for our Lord’s any-moment return when He does rapture the church without any signs or warning before this blessed event. Are we looking back at the past or forward to the future? Maranatha!

Part 4: Were all of Jesus’ end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?

Part 4: Were all of Jesus" end time prophecies fulfilled by 70 A.D.?