By Daymond Duck, Prophecy Plus Ministries
Those who believe all prophecy has been fulfilled are called Preterists. Not all Preterists agree with each other. There are partial Preterists and full Preterists. The partial Preterists are divided into historicists and futurists. Some of the partial Preterists believe the full Preterists are pagans, etc.
The word “preterist” means past. Generally speaking, it means most Preterists believe most prophecy was fulfilled in the past, specifically, by 70 A.D. Partial Preterists say most but not all of it was fulfilled in the past.
After giving the Parable of the Fig Tree Jesus said, “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:34). The problem centers around the identity of “this generation.” Preterists believe “this generation” means the generation that Jesus was talking to. Many non-Preterists believe “this generation” means the generation that sees the fulfillment of all the prophecies Jesus was talking about.
For many, the problem with Preterists is the fact that they spiritualize and explain away many prophecies, especially the Book of Revelation. Instead of studying the Book of Revelation they dismiss it as nothing more than a book of symbols. The prophecies say one thing, but they say the prophecies mean something else. They attach private interpretations to the prophecies instead of letting the Bible interpret itself. When they do this, they not only change what the Bible says, they dismiss, explain away or spiritualize hundreds of other verses in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Matthew, II Thessalonians, etc. Everything those prophets said about the first coming of Jesus literally happened. It’s a mistake to say that none of what they said about the Second Coming of Jesus is going to literally happen.
Many Preterists say Nero was the Antichrist. But Nero wasn’t the Antichrist because he committed suicide instead of being cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20). Nero didn’t track all buying and selling. And Nero didn’t force people to take the Mark of the Beast.
Many Preterists say Israel’s religious leaders were the False Prophet. But Israel’s religious leaders didn’t build a statue of the Antichrist. Israel’s religious leaders didn’t make that statue speak. Israel’s religious leaders didn’t make the Jews commit idolatry by worshipping the statue. And Israel’s religious leaders didn’t get thrown alive into the Lake of Fire with the Antichrist.
Many Preterists say the final world government was the Roman Empire. But the Roman Empire was the legs of iron on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue not the feet of iron mixed with clay (Daniel 2). The Second Coming of Jesus will be in the days of the feet of iron mixed with clay not in the day of the legs of iron.
Many Preterists say the Second Coming of Jesus was a spiritual coming that took place in 70 A.D. and no one could see it. But the Bible says every eye will see Jesus when He comes back (Revelation 1:7). Two angels said Jesus will come back the same way He went away which was visibly because people could see Him (Acts 1:9-11). Over and over again, Jesus and others told us to watch for the Second Coming, but watching for the Second Coming of Jesus is meaningless, if Jesus has already come back. Watching for the Second Coming is meaningless if is a spiritual return that no one can see. The Bible says so many people will be killed at the Battle of Armageddon when Jesus comes back the blood will flow up to the horses bridles for almost 200 miles. That doesn’t fit with an invisible return that no one can see. Jesus said the sun will be darkened, the moon won’t shine, the stars will fall from heaven, everyone on earth will mourn, the lost will be removed from the earth, the sheep and goat nations will be judged, etc., but none of that happened in 70 A.D. (Matt. 24:29-30; 13:41-42, 49-50; 25:31-46).
Many Preterists say the destruction of Jerusalem and the persecution of the Church in 70 A.D. was the Tribulation Period. The Church won’t be here during the Tribulation Period. There was no seven-year covenant in 70 A.D. There weren’t enough people on earth for a 200 million man army to invade Israel in 70 A.D. The Euphrates River didn’t dry up. The Two Witnesses didn’t lie in the street for three and one-half days while the whole world watched. Babylon wasn’t destroyed by fire in one hour. Jesus didn’t rescue Israel at a Second Coming in 70 A.D., etc. (Rev. 9:16; 16:12; 13:11-18; 11:9).
Many Preterists say the Church is the New Jerusalem. The Bible says the New Jerusalem will be about 1500 miles square, it won’t need the sun or moon, it will have twelve gates of pearls, twelve foundations of precious stones, streets of gold, and the tree of life. The Church still needs the sun and moon, we still have pain, death, suffering, we’re a spiritual building not a physical building with walls, streets, etc. (Rev. 21-22).
Many Preterists say the Millennium is a long period of time not a 1,000 years and we’re living in the Millennium right now. But the Bible says we will have peace on earth during the Millennium. Instead of peace on earth, we have wars and rumors of wars. Instead of thanking God because His kingdom has already come to the earth, we are praying that His kingdom will come to the earth.
To believe Preterism people have to ignore the differences between the Church and Israel, ignore current events, reject the most widely accepted date for the writing of the Book of Revelation, explain away hundreds of verses of Scriptures all over the Bible, etc.
A good question to ask is, “When was the Rapture?” This is actually why some Preterists shove the Rapture over to the Second Coming. If the destruction of Jerusalem and the persecution of the Church is the Tribulation Period, they have to move everything between the Rapture and the Second Coming to the period before 70 A.D.
If the prophecies aren’t literally fulfilled, it’s impossible to know when anything is fulfilled. If the prophecies aren’t literally fulfilled, there is no need to watch for anything. If the prophecies aren’t literally fulfilled, there are no signs of anything. If prophecies aren’t literally fulfilled, we need to forget about heaven, rewards, the resurrection of the dead, etc. because those things won’t literally happen.
Christians should not want to lead anyone wrong. But those who say all prophecy has been fulfilled, the Book of Revelation is nothing but a book of symbols, no one understands it, and the like are leading people wrong. The Bible says study those symbols, search the Scriptures, let Scripture interpret Scripture, blessed is the person who reads, hears and keeps the things in the Book of Revelation, don’t take anything out of the Book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit can help you understand it, etc.
A concise rebuttal of the Preterest view. Well done!
I concur with Phil. Your rebuttal of Preterism was well set and easy to understand. Thanks.
I am honored that your great ministry picked up the article.
Serving Jesus together,
Daymond
Everyone is so thankful Daymond for your very clear writing. Thank you for sharing!
Do you have information on denominations that have the preterist view – I was brought up in a home with basic Christian beliefs, but there was an undercurrent of anti-Semitism, which I never understood. Maybe knowing where my parents got these views would shed light on this issue. We attended a major denominational church and I never heard anything about the “Rapture” or end time events until I was a young married woman and started attending a biblically based, non-denominational church.
[Speaking of the rapture, here is an intriguing piece I viewed on the never boring web.]
Pretrib Rapture Pride
by Bruce Rockwell
Pretrib rapture promoters like Thomas Ice give the impression they know more than the early Church Fathers, the Reformers, the greatest Greek New Testament scholars including those who produced the KJV Bible, the founders of their favorite Bible schools, and even their own mentors!
Ice’s mentor, Dallas Sem. president John Walvoord, couldn’t find anyone holding to pretrib before 1830 – and Walvoord called John Darby and his Brethren followers “the early pretribulationists” (RQ, pp. 160-62). Ice belittles Walvoord and claims that several pre-1830 persons, including “Pseudo-Ephraem” and a “Rev. Morgan Edwards,” taught a pretrib rapture. Even though the first one viewed Antichrist’s arrival as the only “imminent” event, Ice (and Grant Jeffrey) audaciously claim he expected an “imminent” pretrib rapture! And Ice (and John Bray) have covered up Edwards’ historicism which made a pretrib rapture impossible! Google historian Dave MacPherson’s “Deceiving and Being Deceived” for documentation on these and similar historical distortions.
The same pretrib defenders, when combing ancient books, deviously read “pretrib” into phrases like “before Armageddon,” “before the final conflagration,” and “escape all these things”!
BTW, the KJV translators’ other writings found in London’s famed British Library (where MacPherson has researched) don’t have even a hint of pretrib rapturism. Is it possible that Ice etc. have found pretrib “proof” in the KJV that its translators never found?
Pretrib merchandisers like Ice claim that nothing is better pretrib proof than Rev. 3:10. They also cover up “Famous Rapture Watchers” (on Google) which shows how the greatest Greek NT scholars of all time interpreted it.
Pretrib didn’t flourish in America much before the 1909 Scofield Bible which has pretribby “explanatory notes” in its margins. Not seen in the margins was jailed forger Scofield’s criminal record throughout his life that David Lutzweiler has documented in his recent book “The Praise of Folly” which is available online.
Biola University’s doctrinal statement says Christ’s return is “premillennial” and “before the Tribulation.” Although universities stand for “academic freedom,” Biola has added these narrow, restrictive phrases – non-essentials the founders purposely didn’t include in their original doctrinal statement when Biola was just a small Bible institute! And other Christian schools have also belittled their founders.
Ice, BTW, has a “Ph.D” issued by a tiny Texas school that wasn’t authorized to issue degrees! Ice now says that he’s working on another “Ph.D” via the University of Wales in Britain. For light on the degrees of Ice’s scholarliness, Google “Bogus degree scandal prompts calls to wind up University of Wales,” “Thomas Ice (Bloopers),” “be careful in polemics – Peripatetic Learning,” and “Walvoord Melts Ice.” Also Google “Thomas Ice (Hired Gun)” – featured by media luminary Joe Ortiz on his Jan. 30, 2013 “End Times Passover” blog.
Other fascinating Google articles include “The Unoriginal John Darby,” “X-raying Margaret,” “Edward Irving in Unnerving,” “Pretrib Rapture Politics,” “Pretrib Rapture Secrets,” “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty,” “Pretrib Hypocrisy,” “Pretrib Rapture Secrecy,” and “Roots of Warlike Christian Zionism” – most from the author of “The Rapture Plot,” the most accurate documentation on pretrib rapture history.
Can anyone guess who the last proud pretrib rapture holdout will be?
The Real Morgan Edwards
by George Wilson
In 1995, in a 24-page booklet on 18th century pastor Morgan Edwards, evangelist John Bray claimed that Edwards taught a pretrib rapture in his 1788 book titled “Two Academical Exercises….”
Those echoing Bray include Thomas Ice who wrote “Morgan Edwards: Another Pre-Darby Rapturist.” Edwards’ 1788 work can be found on the internet.
In order to claim that Edwards held to pretrib, candidates for the I-can-find-pretrib-earlier-in-church-history-than-you-can medal – including Bray, Ice, LaHaye, Frank Marotta etc. – have intentionally covered up Edwards’ “historicism,” his belief that the tribulation had already been going on for hundreds of years. (How can anyone in the tribulation go back in time and look for a pretrib rapture?)
Here’s proof of Edwards’ historicism and its companion “day-year” theory which can view the 1260 tribulation “days” as “years.”
On p. 14 Edwards described the Ottoman Empire (which was then already 400 years old) as the Rev. 13:11 “beast.” On p. 20 he defined “Antichrist” as the already 1000-year-old “popery” and the “succession of persons” known as “Popes” – his other Rev. 13 “beast.” He necessarily viewed Rev. 13’s 1260-day period as 1260 literal years in order to provide enough time for his two “beasts.”
On p. 19, while discussing “the ministry of the witnesses” of Rev. 11, he allotted “about 204 years” for their “years to perform” – years impossible to fit into a 3.5-year period!
What about Edwards’ rapture? On pp. 21-23 he wrote about “the appearing of the son of man in the clouds, coming to raise the dead saints and change the living, and to catch them up to himself….The signs of Christ’s appearing in the clouds will be extraordinary ‘wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines,’ &. (Matth. xxiv. 6-8.)….The signs of his coming, in the heavens will be ‘the trump of God [I Thess. 4:16], vapor and smoke, which will darken the sun and moon [Matt. 24:29],’…and also cause those meteors called ‘falling stars’….
Right after his combined rapture/advent (!), Edwards said: “And therefore, now, Antichrist…will…counterfeit the preceding wonders in heaven…causing ‘fire to come down from heaven’….And that godhead he will now assume, after killing the two witnesses….Now the great persecution of the Jews will begin…for time, times, and half a time….”
Thomas Ice’s article on Edwards (see first par. above) quoted only the first 27 words in the above quotation, ending with “to himself.” This sort of unethical revisionism is constantly employed by many pretrib defenders.
Not only had most of Edwards’ historicist tribulation occurred before his combined rapture/advent, but his Antichrist kept raging for 3.5 years even after the Matt. 24 signs! No wonder his tutor advised him to correct his thesis!
To read Edwards’ complete work, Google “[PDF] Two Academical Exercises…www.breadoflifebiblestudy.com.”
For more info on Edwards, Google “McPherson Page” (click on a reproduction of “Cover-Ups”). Also Google “Deceiving and Being Deceived” by historian Dave MacPherson.
/I saw the foregoing item on the exciting web. Reactions welcome. /
Each person must make up their own minds in light of the SCRIPTURAL (not denominational etc) argumentation presented…
http://lightshine.me/a-response-to-some-arguments-made-against-pre
http://lightshine.me/matthew-24-the-romans-are-coming-the-romans-a
http://lightshine.me/to-me-or-not-to-me-that-is-the-question-audio
http://lightshine.me/a-cloud-coming-in-flaming-fire-62141
http://lightshine.me/lishtshine-radio-was-jesus-mistaken-1
There are many “strawmen” in this so-called rebuttal of Preterism. Apart from the many misrepresentations there is the obvious avoidance of the time frame given for the events of the book of the Revelation. The principal of Audience Relevance and the serious consideration of the myriad of time frame references is foundational to the Preterist view. Without attempting to list all of the time frame references I will focus only on a few within the book of Revelation. For those who insist on a literal interpretation, it’s interesting that many refuse to accept the clear time frame John gave for the events of his apocalyptic book. One ask may ask the question: “Where do I find the TIME frame statements for the events of the Revelation?”
That question is answered in what has become known as “bookend” statements. The first are found in the opening verses: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must SOON take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the TIME is NEAR.” (Revelation 1:1-3 NASB)
The closing chapter contains the following time statements: “And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must SOON take place”…”And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the TIME is NEAR”…”Behold, I am coming QUICKLY, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done”…”He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming QUICKLY.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:6, 10, 12, 20 NASB)