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The following is a critique of a Preterist article that I did.
Here it is:
The Article:
QUESTION: The second
coming is supposed to be an event that we as believers can look forward to. It is a time when our battles with the flesh,
with sin and death, are supposed to be over (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). This battle is still going on is it not?
ANSWER:
If the battle is still going on, Jesus hasn't really saved us yet. His victory is not complete. We are only partially saved.
And
then the Jews would be right in their suggestion that Jesus is not the Messiah since He hasn't really fulfilled all OT prophecy
yet and proven that He is the Messiah. His failure to fulfill all those things in a physical literal way is the reason many
Jews rejected Him.
bj responds: Here this article is saying that our battle with the flesh is over and shouldn't still
be going on. They say this because everything has to fit into the a.d. 70 theory that it is all over and Jesus fulfilled every
prophecy, but in a spiritual and invisible way.
Any Christian that is honest with himself Knows that the battle is
not over.
If we are to assume everything in the NT only applies pre a.d. 70 then the Preterist has just made of none
effect, the majority of scripture.
Scripture says, sanctification, not justification is a process. (Philippians 2:12,13;
James 1:21;1 Thess. 5:23)
Sanctification is aligning your body and soul with what is already true of you in the heavenlies.
(Ephesians 1:3)
The Motto of the Preterist, then has to be, 'Relax, it all happened in a.d. 70.'
But any living
breathing Christian knows that is not be the case.
Also the Jews didn't reject Jesus because he failed to physically
and literally fulfill all his promises. He didn't physically and literally fulfill all his promises because Israel rejected
him. (Romans 11:25-27; Romans 11:32; Acts 1:11;)
He wants to be a King to a willing kingdom.
The rejection of
messiah opened the door for the rest of us.
Jesus will come back and physically fulfill his promises.
Hal Lindsey
says that a seismic company detected a fault running through the Mount of Olives. Well, this is because it is awaiting the
literal and physical feet of Messiah to set down. (Zechariah 14)
Jesus left physically and literally from the Mount
of Olives and that is how he said he would return (Acts 1:11)
Article states: It was not physical battles that He fought
for us. His kingdom is not of this world, else His servants would fight with physical weapons in physical battles. His warfare
was spiritual and His weapons were spiritual. And those final ultimate conflicts have been engaged and settled. Christ has
conquered. The kingdom is ours.
Satan's dominion over us has been shattered and crushed.
bj responds: The Preterist
believes that Christ literally and physically came the first time but that he will come only spiritually the second time.
They
believe Zechariah 9:9 is physical and literal because in hindsight they see that Christ came physically and literally the
first time.
But in Zechariah 9:10 they think it will be different when he comes again.
In spiritualizing everything
after the first coming they in a sense sound like the gnostics who denied Jesus came in the flesh the first time. (1 John
4:1,2)
The only difference is that they have applied the gnostic view to His second coming.
They have denied
that we struggle every day because they have denied the physical reality of the situation.
This is also similar to
Christian Science that just denies the reality of matter.
Deny Jesus is coming back physically and deny that the Christian
has a physical struggle.
The scripture speaks of Paul buffeting his body....
I can here the argument now, Well,
that was pre a.d. 70
You see they can eliminate most of the NT with this method of interpretation.
Rather than
believing the plain sense of scripture they look for some hidden meaning. They have turned the scripture into a esoteric sayings.
This is what the Liberals do but just with more scripture.
Article States: We need to remember what kind of death
is our worst enemy (spiritual death) and what kind of resurrection is the "better resurrection" (spiritual life). Has Christ
conquered? Or are we still waiting for Him to prove His Messiahship? Do the Jews have a justifiable excuse for refusing to
accept Jesus as Messiah simply
because He hasn't fulfilled the promises physically-literally? Or were those prophecies
dealing with the spiritual realities of the kingdom? Did Jesus promise us a physical paradise with no physical pain or suffering
(like the Jews expected)? Or did He promise us spiritual victory? In Luke 21:16-19 Jesus said that in the soon-to-come tribulation
some of them would be "put to death," but also
that "not a hair of your head will perish." Is this contradictory,
or was He speaking spiritually of their soul's preservation through the coming persecution? Verse 19 says it all: "By your
perseverance you will win your souls." Jesus never promised them a physical paradise and materialistic, sensual delights.
He promised soul
salvation. That is here now. It is reality. When these physical bodies die we continue on in His presence
in our spiritual body.
bj responds: Jesus rose physically (Luke 24; John 20:27-31)
In First John it says that
'we shall be like him for we shall see him like He is.'
We don't know exactly How he is but we know he rose physically
and literally.
Jesus died physically and rose physically but it is carnal to think that we will do the same, according
to the Preterist.
The Article states: That is here now. It is reality. When these physical bodies die we continue on
in His presence in our spiritual body.
bj: A spiritual body is a body of flesh and bone not just a spirit.
Article
states: The wages of sin is death. Is this "death" physical or spiritual? It could not be physical death however, since we
all die a physical death, righteous and sinner alike. The cost of sin is spiritual death, for which Christ paid the price
for all those who are His. We need to start putting our spiritual glasses on and setting our minds on the things above in
the heavenly places. The
heavenly kingdom cannot be entered or lived in by sensual and materialistically-oriented folks.
bj
responds: Preterists must believe that what Christ did and is going to do is, 'sensual and materialistically oriented' because
they are equating physical reality to this.
Is their next step denying that Christ ever came and was physically born
of a virgin, physically lived, physically died and physically resurrected?
Article quotes: Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (1 Cor. 15:50)
bj
responds: First Corinthians says that 'flesh and blood' will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is because blood is where
sin is passed on. Death is a disease of the blood.
After the resurrection Jesus had a body of flesh and bone, not blood.
Article
states: We have inherited that kingdom. The final enemy (spiritual death) has been defeated. All enemies raised up against
Christ and His people have been conquered. The battle is over!
bj responds: These folks must be living on Fantasy Island!
I
will bet that their counseling skills leave many depressed folks out there.
Couselee: I'm struggling with anger, could
you help me.
Counselor: I'm sorry, You must not be saved, let me pray a prayer for you. Lord, show this wayward soul
that he should relax for it all happened in a.d. 70, Amen
Next!
The hope that the Bible talks about is specific
and this is what purifies and motivates us in our continuing struggle as Christians.
"Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we
shall see him AS HE IS. 3 And EVERY MAN THAT HATH THIS HOPE PURIFIETH HIMSELF, even as he is pure."
This says that
'When He shall appear'
1) We shall be like him because we will see him as he is.
Well, how is he?
We
don't know about everything he is but we do know that he has a physical body of flesh and bones. So this is part of what those
that see him at his second coming to earth, will be like.
2) 'And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure'
What hope?
The hope that we will be like the physically resurrected Christ when He comes.
Preterists
believe that he has come already in spirit.
Their hope is looking backwards to something that already happened though
all appearances says otherwise.
Their Jesus did a crummy job of changing the world and setting things straight.
Their
Jesus is a false hope that misses the specifics of how He said he will come back.
BJ Max
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