Friday, September 12, 2008

How to talk to an Apostolic Full Preterist--but only if you must

Part OneWhy does it matter?
It is a question that I have been asked over the past few years as I searched out the beliefs of Apostolic Preterism that has intruded our movement. My answer has been, and still is—truth matters. If truth doesn’t matter, then nothing matters. Preterism presents to those not familiar with eschatology some very serious misconceptions regarding the future.
Preterism is usually defined as an eschatology that holds that some (Partial Preterism) or all (Full Preterism) of biblical prophecies regarding the last days have already been fulfilled. While Partial Preterist regards a future coming of Christ, a physical resurrection of the dead, and a White Throne Judgment of all men, Full Preterists teach that these events took place in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem. This ideology removes from consideration a restored nation of Israel and a final confrontation wherein evil is expunged from the face of the earth. According to Preterism, what you see in this world is as good as it gets.
The bizarre beliefs of the Full-Preterist
Because the Apostolic Full-Preterists have no central leadership with a single voice, the beliefs of the full preterists vary from individual to individual. The core belief, however, can be described as a claim that all of eschatology has been fulfilled, save for the last two chapters of Revelation. To maintain such a view, Full-Preterists have offered forth the most “unusual” explanations.
The rapture of the Church, according to the Full Preterists, had to take place just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This would include a physical resurrection of the dead saints. This pre-70 AD rapture of the entire Church was devised in an attempt to explain why no one can find any Full Preterist teachings by the Ante-Nicene fathers. Such teachings of a pre-70 AD rapture do not exist in the early Church. More importantly, a pre-70 AD rapture of the Church body would result in false teachers, hypocrites, and sinners operating the Church from that time forward. To wit, Christ left His body, the Church, to wicked men to continue into the twenty-first century. Such rationale is ludicrous.
Apostolic Full-Preterists claim a total fulfillment of Revelation 20, which includes the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. This 1,000 year rule of Christ supposedly lasted from the 33 AD birth of the Church to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, meaning that the 1,000 year reign only lasted 37 years.
Revelation 20 also contains the passage wherein Satan is cast into the fiery abyss to join the false prophet and beast. (verse 10)According to Full Preterists, this also has been fulfilled, and that there has been since 70 AD a cessation of demonic possession of individuals as seen in the gospels. After 70 AD, the Church, those left behind in the pre-70 AD rapture, would no longer need the God given power to cast out devils. (Mark 16:17) Satan burning in the fiery abyss and impotent demonic underlings somehow does not explain the evil in the world today. Furthermore, the Full-Preterists do not give an explanation of who is running the Empire of Darkness since Satan has been cast into the fiery abyss.
Full-Preterists also claim no future physical coming of Christ of a physical resurrection. The Coming of Christ was a “judgment” coming that involved the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and his Roman army. The resurrection involves a resurrection of only the soul out of Sheol, the abode of the dead. For the Full-Preterists, the resurrection process has been an ongoing event since 70 AD. At the moment of death, the soul rushes to their White Throne and receives their eternal reward.
What is ignored by the Full-Preterists is that the prophecy of Christ will come the same way He left. Luke states, “Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go." (Acts 1:11 CEV) Christ’s departure was physical and so will be His return. Also ignored by the Full-Preterist is that Christ’s resurrection was physical as well. The body of Christ could be handled. (John 20:27) Christ also could eat food, something a spirit could not do. (Luke 24:43)
The beliefs of the Full-Preterists are bizarre. Many Christians consider such beliefs as being heresy. Whether one regards Full-Preterism as being bizarre or heresy, the bottom line is that their teachings are completely false.

1 comment:

Roderick_E said...

Please consider a 4 part series on how to "recover" from being a hyperpreterist. The series was written by someone who had been a hyperpreterist for 15 years: Recovery Room