THE PRETERIST COSMOS
"PRETERIST: [prett'-er-ist] Theol. One who holds that the prophecies of the Apocalypse have been already (wholly or in great part) fulfilled." (Oxford English Dictionary) On this web site, the word "preterism" refers to the belief that all the prophecies of the Bible have been already and wholly fulfilled (since A.D. 70). The word "preterist" not only means one who holds to preterism, it also means, "of or pertaining to preterism or preterists" (e.g., "the preterist interpretation of Bible prophecy," "a preterist church," etc.).
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What's New in the Cosmos
Updated 07/26/2021:
QUESTION 113: "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But NOW is my kingdom not from hence" (Jn. 18:36). Some postmillenials and others have taken note of the word "now" in that verse. They say that when Jesus spoke those words, it was not YET time for his followers to fight for him. But when he rose from the dead, all power was given to him in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18). So since that event, heaven and earth have been fused, so that his kingdom IS now of this world, and his followers now ARE to fight for him. What do you think of this interpretation of the word "now" in John 18:36? ANSWER
ARTICLES
"Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." (Martin Luther, 1521)
Confess Jesus and believe that God raised him from the dead. The Bible says, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NASB). The word confess means to acknowledge that Jesus is Savior and Lord, to believe that Jesus died on the cross for sins and conquered death for those who will believe. Believe that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and He will change your life as you love Him and keep His commandments. Although the various authors of And It Came to Pass do not teach that "all things written" stand fulfilled today (Lk. 21:22; I Peter 4:7), they do teach that the bulk of New-Testament prophecies is fulfilled. And though this book falls short of teaching the full significance of the Advent of the King and His eternal Kingdom (Matt. 16:28; II Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3) at the Judgment of the Ministry of Death (II Cor. 3:7), it does reason in a manner that may dislodge many of the eschatological assumptions from the mind of a dispensationalist. Gentry says that only after we take the "first step" of presupposing that creedal futurism is "infallibly certain" (pg. 44) may we then move on to "consider" (full) preterism in the light of Scripture. (pg. 2) And when he says that we may "consider" preterism, he does not mean that we become free to "consider" the possibility that preterism might be scriptural. He means that we are permitted only to "consider" preterism within the creedal understanding that preterism is unscriptural. Thus for creedalists it is the Creeds that decisively settle the question at the very outset as to whether or not the Bible (the ultimate authority) teaches futurism. In this sense the Ecumenical Creeds are, for creedalists, the first and final (decisive) word on preterism. As Noah and his family endured patiently in the ark, so were the first-century Christians patiently enduring a spiritual/fiery baptism, sharing the sufferings of Christ. Old-Covenant baptisms were a fading and ceremonial removal of the filth of the flesh, but New-Covenant, Spiritual baptism in Christ became the appeal of a good conscience toward God (Heb. 10:2). By means of it, believers remained faithful through the power of God in Christ, and thus retained a clean conscience (I Peter 3:16). And as Christ was exalted after He patiently endured, His Church-Body was called and chosen through His resurrection-power to soon be exalted with Him in the end of the old-covenant age. A transcript of a conversation (debate) on preterism that my brother, Danny Green, had with Hank Hanegraaff and Elliot Miller on The Bible Answer Man broadcast in 1995. Yahweh of hosts, the Son of God, became flesh and tabernacled among His sinful people under the Law. By the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, His people nailed Him to a cross and put Him to death. He was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day. In His great grace and tender mercy, the Messiah from Heaven, the God and Savior of the world, had made atonement for sin. He then ascended to the Father, and thereupon poured out His resurrecting Spirit upon His elect ones, thus building up His Church, His Body, until it reached maturity and became the eternal dwelling place of God in spirit (Eph. 2:22). The appendix to Gary North’s new commentary on First Corinthians is called
"Full Preterism": Manichean or Perfectionist-Pelagian?
This article is a response to that appendix. ...The main contention of Gary
North’s article is that preterists are “Manicheans” because preterists believe
in the eternal existence of sin and righteousness on Earth with no future final
judgment.
The condemning, old (covenant) things passed away long ago. All (covenant)
things were made new. Since the old-testament temple fell, Christ in the heart
is forever the true "Tabernacle of God among men." Now in Christ our Redeemer
-our Forgiver- the Church is enabled to realize the chief End of mankind: to
love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and body; and to love his neighbor as
himself. Revelation (prophecy, knowledge and tongues) ceased, but the love of
God in our hearts remains (II Cor. 3:11). Amen.
After years of this struggle, God fulfilled his promise to me: I sought, and I
found, and God began showing me His great and unsearchable things! As I began
to understand the Bible more and more, I began to understand my own salvation.
To my joy, I discovered that I had been saved by His grace, in the invisible
working of His Spirit, through faith. Nothing I had ever said or done or prayed
or thought had caused or contributed to my becoming a saved person. I found
that Christ was my righteousness, and that any good work that I had done in Him
was His work in me to beautify Himself.
From November, 1989 to April, 1990, Max King took the time to correspond by
snail mail with an enthusiastic young reader of his books (me) about the
relationship of faith and grace to works and baptism. These three messages,
which have been edited and revised, are the doctrinal portions of the three
principal letters I sent to Max King during that time of correspondence.
What is the difference between how people came to know God in the Old Testament
and how people come to know God today? Whether Adam, Abraham, David, Paul, or
you and me- we were all justified by grace through faith, in the Eternal
Covenant. The old and the New Covenant teach the same Salvation of God; the old
looked forward to it and the New Covenant realized it, but both covenants
accommodated and declared the same salvation. This is why Abraham is said to be
our father even though he lived before the old covenant and we live in the new.
Abraham was justified -he came to know God- by faith before he was circumcised,
i.e., before he met
any
covenantal conditions.
(With a response by Keith Mathison)
