Proofs Against Preterism

[akfools]

Proofs Against Preterism


"Preterism" is a system of non-literal, "spiritualized" Biblical interpretation that was popularized by
Augustine in the 4th century A.D. and that still plagues many Christian (and pseudo-Christian) churches
today, which generally holds that most Bible prophecy, except for the last two chapters of Revelation and
associated passages, was fulfilled before the present church age (hence the term preterism).

 According to preterists the "great tribulation" prophesied by the Lord Jesus in his Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24), and
further graphically detailed in Revelation chapters 6-19, was fulfilled in A.D. 70 and thereafter with the
destruction of Jerusalem by Rome and the dispersion of the Jews from Palestine. Preterists deny that the
thousand-year kingdom age prophesied in Revelation 20:1-6 will be literally fulfilled or that the Lord
Jesus will ever reign literally and bodily on earth, and teach instead that His reign is spiritual only and is
exercised through His (universal) Church.

Some preterists believe that Christ will return after a kingdom age (hence the term postmillenniaism) in which the Church will successfully evangelize the world, implement God's law in the earth and take political reign over the kingdoms of this earth in Christ's place; others deny any reality of a kingdom age on earth and teach that Christ's reign applies only in the hearts of
His saints (amillennialism).

Preterists generally believe that God has forever put Israel aside and has no further plan or purpose for national Israel.
The apostolic Premillennial position on the other hand correctly takes a more literal approach to the
scriptures, and teaches that Christ will gloriously and bodily return to this earth after a future time of
global upheaval and tribulation, before His kingdom age (hence, premillennial) to free creation from the
Adamic curse, restore the planet to its Edenic state as originally created, and establish His glorious
thousand-year Kingdom reign on this earth.

The inherent danger of the preterist system is that it causes its adherents to foolishly believe Bible
prophecy is a "back-burner issue," to misinterpret current world conditions and to blindly ignore the way
current events are unfolding in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and how the global economy and
governments of this world are being melded into one global satanic system soon to be ruled by "the man
of sin" the Bible calls the antichrist.

The following arguments are offered to disprove this false and
dangerously misleading belief system:

I. The "Great Tribulation" of Christ's Olivet Discourse is yet to be fulfilled

Matthew 24:21-22
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

A. Contrary to preterist teaching, the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 did not
fulfill Jesus' description of a "great tribulation" never to be equaled before or since. It was not at all
unparalleled in history, and was generally a replay of the previous destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC by
the Babylonians, which was equally horrific and barbaric (2 Chr. 36:17-20, Lam. 4:10, 2:20).

Furthermore, in Matt 24:21 Jesus is quoting from Daniel 12:1, (see Matt. 24:15 & point 2 below)
which shows that the "great tribulation" in view culminates in the deliverance of Israel (Jer. 30:7, Zech.
12:7-10, Rom. 11:25-27), not its destruction and dispersion as executed by Rome in AD 70. These
prophecies of Israel's deliverance from what the Lord Jesus indicates is a world-wide tribulation have
never yet been fulfilled and must be yet brought to pass:

Daniel 12:1-2,7,11
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of
thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation
even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt...
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held
up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it
shall be for a time, times, and an half; [cf. Dan. 7:25, Rev. 12:14] and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished...
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that
maketh desolate [see Dan. 11:31] set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Zechariah 12:7-10
7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and
the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8 In that
day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at
that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD
before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations
that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me
whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. [cf. Rev. 1:7]

Romans 11:25-26
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise
in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles
be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion
the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob

B. The Key to timing of fulfillment of Matthew 24 is not the so-called "time text" of v. 34 as
believed by preterists, but is instead v. 15: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand."
Jesus said we must read and understand the book of Daniel.

The "abomination of desolation" (Daniel 8:13, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11) refers to the antichrist's desecration of the Temple (2 Thes. 2:4), which according clearly to Daniel 12:1-2 (quoted in pt. 1 above), must be a last-days event connected with the
deliverance of Israel and the final resurrection(s) to judgment (Rev. 20:4-5).

Therefore these passages could not have been fulfilled in AD 70 and must be yet brought to pass. (Note: a Jewish Temple of some
sort must therefore be rebuilt in Jerusalem, which will likely result from the 7-year covenant of Dan.
9:27, to be confirmed by the antichrist with "the many." This is also a major goal of the Luciferian secret
societies connected with international Freemasonry as directed from behind the curtain by the Vatican.
As acknowledged even by leading preterist proponent Gary DeMar, preparations for a new Temple in
Jerusalem have been underway for some time).

Matthew 24:34 (preterists' "time text") therefore cannot refer to the generation Jesus was speaking
to, but must instead refer to the generation that would be alive at the time "all these things" begin to come
to pass (v. 33).

C. Matthew 24:31 - And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The word "angels" does not refer to "messengers" (evangelists) going out into the world with the
gospel as the Preterists must (and do) preposterously teach. The context of 24:31 & 25:31 shows these are
the angels of heaven accompanying the Lord in final judgment of the world and gathering of the elect at
the rapture of the Church, which this and other passages show occurs immediately after (not before!) the
tribulation of those days (Matt. 13:39-41, 2 Thes. 1:7-2:3, 1 Cor. 15:52, Rev. 11:15-18 & 19-20:4).

 This element of Matt. 24 alone shows the events prophesied by the Lord Jesus could not have been fulfilled in
AD 70.

D. Matthew 24:27,30 - For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be... ...And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man
in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The Lord Jesus did not visibly and literally come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory
in AD 70; therefore the preterists' spiritualize this text to assert that the Lord Jesus "came" spiritually in
powerful judgment on Israel using the armies of Rome as his rod of iron. This is clearly one of the most
abominable perversions of the scriptures imaginable. Preterists' attempts to spiritualize Bible texts such
as this text that should rightly be interpreted literally always produce un-provable speculations that
undermine the doctrinal authority of scripture and open the door to arbitrary interpretation.

The scriptures must be interpreted literally unless it is clear from the context that figurative language is being used; that
is not the case in Matthew 24. Luke's account of this discourse does include a warning of the events of
AD 70 (Luke 21:20-24.a), which foreshadowed events in Israel during the coming great tribulation
period, as did the abominable actions of Antiochus Epiphanes in 170 BC; but Luke also shows a
distinction between AD 70 and the subsequent "times of the gentiles" (v. 24.b), followed by the literal
return of the Lord in power and glory (v. 25-27).

The literal interpretation of Christ's coming is demanded by several parallel passages on the subject (cf. Dan. 7:13, Zech. 12:10, Matt 26:64, Mark 13:26 & 14:62, 2 Pet. 3:3-10, & Rev. 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.")


II. Revelation Chapter 20 must be interpreted literally.

The Preterist interpretation of the entire book of Revelation rises and falls on the interpretation of
Revelation 20:1-4. According to the preterists' spiritualized approach to interpreting the passage, the
angel in v.1 is the Lord Jesus, the chain is the gospel, by which Satan is now bound (v.2) and hindered
from deceiving the nations (?!).

 According to the preterists the "first resurrection" of Rev. 20:4 must be
interpreted spiritually, not literally, as the new birth of regeneration every believer experiences upon
conversion (Eph. 2:1-6).

However this interpretation of Rev. 20 is impossible because:

A. The blatantly obvious contextual reason that the resurrection in v. 4 cannot be spiritual
conversion of regeneration or the new birth, a reason which is completely and shamefully ignored by
preterists, is that those that are raised to life had already been martyred for their faith (v. 4).

B. The word "lived" in v. 4 is the same Greek word ("zao," i.e. came to life) used in v. 5 of the
second resurrection and in 2:8 of Christ's bodily resurrection. Nothing in the context indicates the
resurrections in v. 4 & 5 are different in character, one spiritual & the other bodily. The context infers
they are bodily resurrections, separated from each other by 1000 years.

C. Satan is still very much on the loose (1 Pet. 5:8, 2 Cor. 2:11, 4:3-4).


Conclusion:

Revelation 20:4 describes the bodily resurrection (rapture) of the saints following the
return of Christ to earth in Rev. 19 to destroy the antichrist and all those allied with him, in perfect
harmony with Matt. 24:29-31, 13:24-43, 1 Cor. 15:51-52, 1 Thes. 4:14-17 & 2 Thes. 2:1. Therefore the
events of Revelation 6-19 must be connected in time (as is the great tribulation of Daniel 12:1-2) with the
resurrection of the saints at the end of the age, not with the events of AD 70. Furthermore, Revelation
20:1-6 must therefore be interpreted literally, including the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth (see 5:10).
III. Scores of prophecies of an earthly Kingdom Age are yet to be fulfilled.

The Preterists' position in denial of Christ's earthly reign is disproven by many as yet unfulfilled
prophecies which must be brought to pass of an earthly kingdom (Jeremiah 23:1-8, Daniel 7:14,27, Job
19:25, Matthew 6:10, 5:5, 19:28, Acts 1:6-8, Rev. 5:10, 2:26-27), centered at Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4,
Micah 4:1-3, Isaiah 9:6-7, 24:23; 25-27; 32; 54; 66:7-24, Jer. 3:16-18, Psalm 2:6-12; 48, Matt. 5:35, Zech.
ch. 1-2, 8:1-8), following the second regathering of Israel, after the gospel has gone forth to the Gentiles:

Isaiah 11:10-12
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the
people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to
pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant
of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

The first regathering of Israel followed the Babylonian captivity. This second regathering of Israel
from dispersion among the nations was never yet fulfilled and is clearly being fulfilled in our day. This
regathering of Israel is in itself the most obvious sign that the stage is being set for the Lord's soon return
to gloriously reign on this earth in fulfillment of these many wonderful prophecies of a coming glorious
time when "a king shall reign in righteousness" on this earth, and when "the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

Conclusion:

The Preterist approach to Bible prophecy is a dangerously misleading belief system that produces a
warped world view and an improper view of God's plan for Israel, and (as stated above) causes its
adherents to blindly ignore the way current events are unfolding in fulfillment of Bible prophecy and how
the global economy and civil governments of this world are being melded into one satanic system soon to
be ruled by "the man of sin" the Bible calls the antichrist.

Christians are commanded to withdraw from this beast system (Rev. 18:4), but preterists instead blindly pretend such a globally implemented system cannot exist or misinterpret its significance. Further, while the Bible says Christians are to "love His
appearing" (1 Tim. 4:, to long for His return and to eagerly "wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Thes.
1:10), many preterists instead scoff at the concept of literal return of the Christ in power and great glory,
themselves fulfilling Peter's prophecy of scoffers in the last days (2 Peter 3:3). Nevertheless, as John said,
"even so, come, Lord Jesus."


http://pdf.sa-media.com/media/212101454394/212101454394.pdf

[Psalm 51:17]

This is what I don't get about Gary DeMar - he's been a big critic of the Roman Catholic Church(and claims he was once part of it before he saw the errors of it). However, he promotes the Preterist doctrine that this same RCC beast system came up with centuries ago. He also has been warning about our constitution being ripped to shreds, but en yet, he supports this "kingdom building on earth" philosophy that things are getting better and better. And why in the world does John Weaver endorse him? Weaver is KJV-only and anti-501c3? Shouldn't he know that the government takeover of churches in American(like how he discussed in length) is leading us into this OWG?

I mean things OBVIOUSLY aren't "getting better and better" - you have the false bible versions, you have all the New Age infiltration into churches, you have the 501c3 government takeover of churches, you have the MASSIVE debt the Federal Reserve has brought on in the trillions, the current job market is hopeless, you have a Muslim in the White House(and potentially a Mormom next year), anyone want more?

[Psalm 51:17]

Finally got to read the darn thing - yeah, while most of Churchianity may not classify themselves as Preterists, I think the fruit clearly shows.

I mean almost every time I try to bring up Jesus's promise of his 2nd Coming, the responses are like, "Why are you so worried? This life is so GREAT!". Didn't Jesus say his kingdom is NOT of this world? Didn't Paul say we should look forward to eternal life, and not the promises here of this earth? Didn't they read Moses's account many times, where he could have easily grew up with all the riches from childhood with Pharoah, but chose not to do so?

As for the topic of the end times antichrist, yeah, alot of them will pretty much scoff.

Overall, alot of them, at least on my end, feel everything will be peaceful and somewhat prosperous before Jesus comes back. No, they don't exactly have the views of the "religious right" and alot of these false teachers that believe we have to plant churches and elect Republicans into office for Jesus to come back, but nonetheless, they're like, "Everyone has been anticipating Jesus to come back for centuries, so what's the point worrying now?".

Well, if they want to use this logic, then I guess it will be at least 25 years before Jesus will come back, b/c our national/global economy is near-hopeless(we reaped what we sowed, so please don't say "God can perform a miracle!"), Churchianity has become so lukewarm, the list goes on.