A CRITIQUE OF FULL PRETERISM AND A DEFENSE OF HISTORICISTIC POST-MILLENNIALISM
J. PARNELL MCCARTER
Truths are often learned in the
context of debates with error.
Dedicated
to the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland,
A
good and faithful servant.
©2002 J. Parnell McCarter. All Rights Reserved.
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PREFACE
I have written this critique of full preterism as part of my preparation for a public debate with full preterist Don Preston (minister and author) scheduled for August 18, 2002 on the nationwide Genesis Radio Network. Its goal is to present in summary format an explanation of why full preterism, along with the general preteristic hermeneutic, should be rejected. And while it is primarily a critique of full preterism, it is also a defense of historicistic post-millennialism. For it is not sufficient simply to reveal the fallacies of preterism; it is necessary to present the alternative which properly interprets the eschatological prophecies of scripture. For those who are interested in the discussion now underway between historicistic (aka historical) post-millennialists and preterists, I hope this treatment will at least be a helpful introduction. It is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully it will prove expansive.
There is another objective, however, underlying this project, consisting of a public debate as well as this book responding to full preterism. As Christians, we are called upon to defend the Christian faith. It is a goal of The Puritans’ Home School Curriculum to equip our children to understand and defend the doctrines of scripture so excellently summarized in the Westminster Standards and the Three Forms of Unity. Hopefully this book, and the project of which it is a part, will illustrate to children reading it just one example of how the reformed faith is being defended. By reading this book, they should not only learn something about the issues involved on the particular topic, but also how one may apply knowledge of the faith in defense of that faith. As parents, we should be building defenders of the reformed Protestant faith.
- J. Parnell McCarter
Since I have been invited
to participate by John Anderson in a public discussion and debate on the “Voice
of Reason” broadcast with preterist Don Preston, the question of whether I
should really be the historicistic post-millennialist to do this has crossed my
mind often. Am I really the one to
articulate the eschatological position which has been maintained by such
notable theologians as Drs. John Owen, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, John
Knox, the Westminster divines, Patrick Fairbairn, and Francis Nigel Lee, not
even to mention the Apostles Paul, John, and so forth. Well I want to concede at the outset what
should be obvious to everyone: I am not the person most qualified to defend
historicistic post-millennialism. But I
am reminded of the words in I Peter
3:15 which say “[be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”. I feel duty-bound to defend my Christian
hope which is so eloquently expressed in the Westminster Larger Catechism thus:
“in the second petition [of the Lord’s Prayer], (which is, Thy kingdom come) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind
to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray, that the kingdom
of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles
brought in; the church furnished with
all gospel-officers and ordinances, purged from
corruption, countenanced and maintained
by the civil magistrate: that the ordinances of
Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those
that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of
those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here,
and hasten the time of his second coming, and our
reigning with him forever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the
kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.”
This is what I am here to defend to the best of my ability, however insufficient that may be.
Now this Biblical doctrine of hope is objected to by full preterists who deny Christ’s future second coming and by pre-millennial dispensationalists and other pessimistic futurists who deny our obligation and hope to establish Christian societies and governments before Christ’s second coming. As I see it, these objectors to historicistic post-millennialism maintain a common fallacy: they try to impose a flawed and overly simplistic hermeneutic upon all the prophecies of scripture. In the case of dispensational futurists, their flawed hermeneutic says we must in all cases impose a literalistic interpretation upon prophetic visions whenever possible. So if the book of Ezekiel prophesies a future Temple where animal sacrifices are performed, then you can bet your bottom dollar that such a brick-and-mortar Temple will yet be re-built in fulfillment of the prophecy. Never mind that Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the Temple who would be raised in three days and how that and other passages might affect how we should interpret the prophecy in Ezekiel. “Ezekiel said it, and we are going to believe it,” so says the dispensational futurist.
Well, when we come to
preterism we meet with a similar flawed and overly simplistic hermeneutic which
- I hate to say- is shoved down the throat of scripture. The partial preterist Dr. Kenneth Gentry has
succinctly stated this full and partial preteristic hermeneutic thus: "I
hold that passages specifically delimiting the time-frame by temporal
indicators (such as "this generation," "shortly," "at
hand," "near," and similar wording) are to be applied to A. D.
70." (July 1997 issue of Chalcedon Report, in an article
entitled "A Brief Theological Analysis of Hyper-Preterism) “So when we
come to the book of Revelation and we read that ‘Jesus is coming shortly’, well
that has got to mean that this reference to Jesus’ coming occurred within
decades of when the prophecy was written,” so says the preterist. “After all,”
the preterist says, “the Bible says it, and you can bet your bottom dollar that
we are going to believe it.” Never mind
that within that same book of Revelation that coming of Jesus Christ is said to
come after **at least** what it calls “a thousand years” have expired. And never mind that it depicts kingdoms
rising and falling in the intervening years, through the prophetic symbol of
beasts. And never mind that when it
depicts what Christ’s coming Day of Judgment will be like, it presents an image
of all the living and the dead who have ever lived standing together in front
of their Judge, King Jesus Christ on that day, which never happened in 70 AD or
any other year in the past history of mankind.
And never mind many other principles of sound interpretation of
prophecy, which are simply washed aside by preterism. “Jesus said He was coming soon, and we are going to believe it,”
so says the preterist.
I would like to explain to
both preterists and futurists why they should re-consider their methods. And
specifically with regards to full preterism, I would like to present from
scripture why we should believe in a coming Day of Judgment in which all the
living and the dead will stand before their judge, King Jesus, who will then
allow His elect to eternally reside with Him in the New Jerusalem on the New
Earth while He sends the reprobate to eternally reside in Hell. Also, I would like to outline the time
indicators of the New Testament which suggested that the Day of Judgment was
likely going to occur a long time after the Apostolic era; and I would like to
rehearse some principles of interpreting prophecy from the Old Testament which
we must apply to the New Testament as well.
Finally, I would like to answer, as time permits, some of the objections
of full preterism.
Before
comparing historicistic post-millennialism with preterism, it is important
first to explain clearly what historicistic post-millennialism is. Historicism interprets the eschatological
prophecies described in Revelation, II Thessalonians 2, Matthew 24 and other
relevant passages as unfolding over the history of mankind, from the First
Advent to the future Second Advent, just as it interprets the prophecies of
Daniel as unfolding over a vast expanse of time. This contrasts with futurism which tends to confine their
fulfillment to some future time in a relatively short time frame, and it
contrasts with preterism which tends to consign their fulfillment to the
distant past, generally in the Apostolic era.
Historicism identifies that Man of Sin and Beast of Revelation with the
Romish Papacy. Post-millennialism
interprets the millennium of Revelation 20 as following the diminution and
eradication of spiritual power of the
Romish Papacy and her daughter whores, when reformed Protestantism will enjoy
greater prosperity. Historicistic
post-millennialism has been the standard position of the Protestant
Reformation, especially among reformed Christians, and it is implicit and
explicit within the historic reformed confessions such as the Westminster
Standards.
Before proceeding into a treatment of the issue, I would be remiss if I
did not address one question often raised: why does this all matter
anyway? Well, I want to boldly say to
such that ask this question: it certainly matters. Indeed, it matters so much that those who deny historicistic
post-millennialism and advocate against it, should be excommunicated in order
to work repentance in them. There are
at least two reasons this issue matters and should be subject to
excommunication:
·
First, an
error on this issue, whether in the preterist direction or the futurist
direction, is predicated upon a dangerous hermeneutic. If this hermeneutic is logically and
consistently applied, it will affect even doctrines as basic as those found in
the Apostles’ Creed. For instance,
**if** the preteristic hermeneutic were correct and terms like “shortly”
necessarily imply **all** fulfillment of the described event is in 70 A.D.,
then all of the events in the book of Revelation must have been ultimately fulfilled
in 70 A.D., because the term “shortly” in Revelation 1:1 is descriptive of the
whole of the revelation, and not just some parts. But if all of its elements were ultimately fulfilled (including
the millennium, Great Day of Judgment in Revelation 20, and the New Heavens and
New Earth in Revelation 21), then it is simply erroneous to adhere to a future
visible, universal Day of Judgment and Advent, because all of such elements
would have been fulfilled in 70 A.D.
Simply put, full preterism is the logical end of the preteristic
hermeneutic. (And, in my opinion, a
rationalistic conception of the new heavens and new earth is its final logical
end. For in the description of the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21,
heaven comes down to earth and they meet.
So what we currently experience would be the new heavens and new earth,
and there would be no more.) And to
take another example, that of dispensationalist futurism, Patrick Fairbairn is
quite right that the logical end of its hermeneutic is Judaism. **If** prophecies, like concerning the coming
Temple prophesied in the book of Ezekiel, are to be interpreted literally, then there will be animal sacrifices
required in a literal Temple even after Christ’s First Advent, and the Apostles
were deceptive liars to say otherwise.
Furthermore, it would imply Christ and His Apostles were frauds in the
way they applied Old Testament prophecy, saying things like Jesus’ body is the
Temple. It should come as no surprise
that there is even some movement of dispensationalists towards Judaism in our
day. Neither should it be a surprise
that there is a movement of partial preterists to full preterism. Too, it should be remembered that the same
basic methodology by which we identify the Anti-Christ that is the Man of Sin
and Beast of Revelation, must be employed to identify the Christ. The two are not separated with regards to
methodology. So an error in the one
will necessarily affect the other.
·
Second, the
word of God states that as the prophecies are fulfilled, Christ’s elect church
will be able to do things like properly identify the Man of Sin and support the
effort to establish the post-millennium through the instrumentality of
preaching. The Apostle Paul implies
that Christians will be able to identify that Man of Sin described in II
Thessalonians 2:3 when He comes. And
the book of Revelation implies that Christians will promote, and not oppose,
that “the kingdoms of this world…become [the kingdoms] of our Lord”. They will
not oppose the latter because of some false premise that reformed Christian
nations with reformed established churches must wait until after Christ’s
visible Second Advent. (It is the
instrument of the preaching of the gospel, also called the sword out of Christ’s
mouth, which will usher in reformation and the millennium [see Revelation 14:6,
19:15,21], though finally the new heavens and new earth will be ushered in by
Christ’s Second Advent.) In these
matters, “none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.”
(Daniel 12:10) That does not mean every
last detail of prophecy should necessarily be interpreted properly (for then
probably none of us would qualify), but on the chief doctrines of eschatology
and the identity of the Man of Sin which are laid out in the Westminster
Standards, there should be no denial.
That there is a Day of Judgment in which Christ will visibly come and judge all the living and the dead who have ever lived- sending the wicked into hell eternally and the righteous to reside eternally with Him in the New Heavens and New Earth- is a plain teaching of the Bible. That full preterists reject this cardinal doctrine and great hope of the Christian faith is prima facia evidence that full preterism is erroneous. And we need not be sucked into this error to explain various passages which preterists wrongly assert imply their position.
Rev. Brian Schwertley has outlined in his book The Pre-Millenial Deception some of the many passages which testify of the coming Day of Judgment in which all men will be judged, the living as well as the dead, and he has shown that this Day of Judgment is the same as the future Second Advent:
1. "On “that day” (singular), “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe” (2 Th. 1:7-10)."
2. “But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.... Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.... Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Cor. 15:23-25, 50-54)."
3. "The Apostle Paul teaches that both the righteous and the wicked will be judged on the same day: “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath” (Rom. 2:5-8)."
4. "The Apostle Paul always teaches in his epistles that the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, the reward of the righteous and the condemnation of the wicked occur on the same day—the day of the Lord. He says, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief.... For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Th. 5:1-4, 9-10). “Paul associates the second coming with the resurrection and the ensuing glory of the saints and the sudden destruction of the wicked. Without the shadow of a doubt, that day has its reference to both parties:—believers are to look for it (1 Th. 5:4-10), for then they shall obtain salvation in all its fullness (vs. 9), then they shall ‘live together with him’ (vs. 10); while that same day will bring the false security of unbelievers to an end in their ‘sudden destruction.’”
5. "The Apostle Peter fully concurs with Paul’s teaching regarding Christ’s second coming. In his second epistle he deals with scoffers who deny the second coming of Christ: “‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’... But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.... But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Pet. 3:4-12)."
6. "Premillennialists teach that there is a 1000-year gap between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked. They teach that the bodily resurrection of the wicked occurs at the end of the millennium. But the parables of Jesus Christ totally contradict premillennial doctrine. In the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus said that both will grow together until the harvest: “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in a bundle to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Mt. 13:30). [6] The harvest obviously refers to the final judgment. “At last the separation shall be such that all the wicked shall be cast into hell fire, and the godly placed in heaven.”
7. "In Matthew 25 Jesus instructed His disciples with regard to the second coming: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world....’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels....’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25:31-46)."
8. “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (Jn. 5:28-29)."
9. "Listen to how Isaiah the prophet describes the second coming of Christ: “For behold, the LORD will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the LORD will judge all flesh” (Isa. 66:15-16)."
10. "Paul teaches that when Christ returns it will be “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God” (2 Th. 1:8)."
11. "Peter says, “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10)."
12. "Paul warns Christians that when Christ returns, their works will be tested by fire: “Each one’s work will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:13-15)."
13. "Thus, according to the abundant testimony of Scripture, Revelation 20:9 refers to the second coming of Christ." [Note: it is to be a day when all the living AND THE DEAD are judged before Jesus Christ.]
We may rightly conclude then that the Westminster Confession chapter 33 accurately portrays the case with the Day of Judgment thus:
I. God has appointed a day, wherein He will
judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ,[1] to whom all power and judgment is given of
the Father.[2]
In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged,[3] but likewise all
persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ,
to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and to receive
according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.[4]
II. The end of God's appointing this day is
for the manifestation of the glory of His mercy, in the eternal salvation of
the elect; and of His justice, in the damnation of the reprobate, who are
wicked and disobedient. For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life,
and receive that fulness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the
presence of the Lord; but the wicked who know not God, and obey not the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of
His power.[5]
III. As Christ would have us to be
certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all
men from sin; and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity:[6] so will He have
that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be
always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may
be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, Amen.[7]
[1] ACT 17:31 Because
he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
[2] JOH 5:27 And hath
given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
[3] 1CO 6:3 Know ye
not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
JUD 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment
of the great day. 2PE 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but
cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment.
[4] 2CO 5:10 For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good
or bad. ECC 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. ROM 2:16 In the day when God
shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy
brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 12 So then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God. MAT 12:36 But I say unto
you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy
words thou shalt be condemned.
[5] MAT 25:31 When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered
all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right
hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw
we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I
was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and
in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or
sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer
them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. ROM 2:5 But after
thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the
day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render
to every man according to his deeds: ROM 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his
wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels
of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of
his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. MAT
5:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ACT 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord; 2TH 1:7 And to you who are troubled
rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of
his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be
admired in all them that believe(because our testimony among you was believed)
in that day.
[6] 2PE 3:11 Seeing
then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye
to be in all holy conversation and godliness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing
that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless. 2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his
body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing
therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest
unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 2TH 1:5 Which
is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a
righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels, LUK 21:7 And they asked him, saying,
Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these
things shall come to pass? 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. ROM 8:23 And
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is
not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for
that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
[7] MAT 24:36 But of
that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father
only. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But
know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not
the Son of man cometh. MAR 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the
master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say
unto you I say unto all, Watch. LUK 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and
your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their
lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh,
they say open unto him immediately. REV 22:20 He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
In the face of such overwhelming evidence for a UNIVERSAL DAY (not days plural) of Judgment in which all the living and the dead will be judged, why do full preterists essentially deny it and associate its fulfillment with the judgment on the Judaistic Jews in 70 A.D. in Palestine? They say the language of imminence often associated with scriptural descriptions of the Day of Judgment compels them.
To deny this final Day of Judgment in which all humanity will be judged, in order to explain the language of imminence often associated with this coming Day of Judgment, is unnecessary and unwarranted. It is unnecessary, because scripture itself provides the reasons for this language of imminence, and it is not the reason assumed by preterists. It is unwarranted because God’s word does not allow us to sweep under the rug the doctrine of the universal and final Day of Judgment of the living and the dead, which will usher in a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.
What clues are provided
in scripture that the Day of Judgment would come long after the Apostolic
era? Here is at least a partial list:
1. According to Revelation 20, the Day of Judgment
accompanying Christ’s advent was to occur after a “thousand years”. Now the term “thousand years” certainly
suggests a long duration of time. Even
full preterists like James Stuart Russell have acknowledged that the millennium
symbolizes a great expanse of time, but they have failed to acknowledge that
the Great Day of Judgment follows the millennium. Other full preterists have acknowledged that the Day of Judgment
follows the millennium, but insist the millennium could have lasted a
relatively short time. In truth, the
millennium is suggestive of an extended duration of time, which is to be
followed by brief release of Satan, and then the Great Day of Judgment.
2. According to Revelation, the Day of Judgment was to
occur after many events which could not have occurred in a short span of
time. Rather, they are events which
consist of the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms (aka “beasts), pestilences,
famines, numerous wars, widespread deception within the church and apostasy,
the nations and their governments becoming Christian, etc.
3. II Peter 3 warns us that we should consider time
indicators relating to the Second Advent in relation to divine time and not
human time. This at least hints that
the Second Advent would be “soon” with respect to divine time, and not human
time.
4. II Thessalonians 2:2 suggests that the Second Advent
was not then imminent. It reads: “That
ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” The Authorized Version properly translates
‘enestaken’ as ‘at hand’ in this context.
5. II Thessalonians 2:3-8 indicates there would have to
be widespread apostasy associated with the Man of Sin (aka the Beast of
Revelation) before the Second Advent.
6. Matthew 24 contrasts the timing of the destruction
of Jerusalem which was to occur in the Apostolic generation with “that day” of
judgment.
7. According to II Corinthians 4:17, the Apostle Paul
describes our current sufferings before Christ’s Advent as being “but for a
moment”, but he explains in the next verse what he means by this. He says it is because this is temporal and
bounded by time, but the future state will be eternal. (“For our light affliction, which is but for
a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are
not seen [are] eternal. “) This implies
language of imminence must be considered relative to eternity.
8. According to Psalm 90:3-4, our judgments will come
swiftly in divine time, even if in normal human reckoning they seem to come
slowly (“Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of
men. For a thousand years in thy sight
[are but] as yesterday when it is past, and [as] a watch in the night.)
9. Luke 21:24, in combination with Romans 11, suggests
that after Jerusalem is trodden down by the Gentiles (in 70 A.D.), that there
will be a long duration “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”, and
then many Jews will be converted, which shall usher in an era of great gospel
prosperity on earth. All of this is
suggestive of a great amount of time before the millennial reign.
10. The book of Revelation describes the coming
experience of the Christian church to be in many notable respects a repetition
of the experience of the Old Testament church, yet played out upon the world
stage. So the book of Revelation
describes a wilderness experience the church must endure, apostacy and
deception, a Babylonian oppression, and redemption. The experience of the Old Testament church lasted for centuries,
so we should not imagine the New Testament church would be any shorter. Indeed, the wilderness experience alone of
the New Testament church is to last a prophetic 1,260 years (according to the
day-year principle) and the redemption period is described in terms of a
millennium, according to the Revelation account.
11. The New Testament, and especially the book of
Revelation, suggests many typological and provisional comings of the Lord
before the coming of the Lord on the Great Day of Judgment. This suggests an expanse of time to
accomplish.
The
great Scottish theologian Patrick Fairbairn, in his work The Interpretation of Prophecy, summarized the temporal indicators
thus:
“…the day in question might, in perfect accordance
with the general design and proper character of prophecy, be represented in
apostolic times as “near,” as “drawing nigh,” as even “at hand;” for the church
being then in the full spring-tide of its life and blessing, it might well
seem, as if that mission were hastening to its accomplishment, and all things
were becoming ready for the final harvest of the world. Yet, it must have been impossible for any
one to read with care some of the parables of our Lord, or even what was
written by St. Paul of the great apostacy- to say nothing of the more
lengthened and intricate plan of events prospectively delineated in the
Apocalypse- without coming to the conviction, that there was still an implied
alternative; namely, that if the church of Christ should degenerate in her
course, if she should begin to slumber in the work given her to do, still more,
if she should become adulterated by the carnal spirit, and the corrupt
practices of the world, then the shadows of the evening should need to be
lengthened out, and in the tenderness of his forbearance, as well as for
purposes of trial and judgment, the Lord should have to protract the day of his
appearing.” (p. 65)
God’s word itself provides us with reasons why a language of imminence is used with respect to the coming Day of Judgment; so we need not essentially deny the universal, visible, and final characteristics of the Day of Judgment presented in the Bible, due to the language of imminence often associated with it. Let me now outline some of the reasons.
First,
we should note that in the Greek language the idea of certainty and the idea of
imminence meet in the Greek term “mello”, in its various forms. So we find in Liddell and Scott’s An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (see Appendix 1) that the idea of
certainty and the idea of imminence are listed as two separate definitions of
the term, with the proper definition in a given case determined by context.
Similarly, The Analytical Greek Lexicon on p. 262 explains concerning this word: "to
be about to, to be on the point of,...it serves to express in general a settled
futurity...." And The Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich, Second Edition
on p. 500 states that it "denotes certainty that an event will take
place," he then gives this "to be on the point of, be about
to." As Don Preston notes in one
of his own articles (http://www.eschatology.org/articles/rebuttals/mello.htm), this does not mean the Greek word “mello” always
means the event described by it will occur ‘soon’ in human time even though it
is certain to occur (as we witness in Hebrews 11:8). Nevertheless there is a close association in the Greek word
“mello” between imminence and certainty.
There is
not in English a word which joins these two ideas of “soon” and “certain”. There is no necessary connotation of “soon”
in our term “certain”, or vice versa.
But there are of course other words in English where two distinct ideas
meet. One such word in English is
“hot”. Sometimes this denotes ‘high in
temperature’ (as in the sentence ‘It is hot today.’), and sometimes it denotes
‘full of zeal’ (as in the sentence ‘He is hot on the warpath to take revenge.’) Given this association in English, we should
not be surprised to find that someone may employ language regarding heat to
convey the idea of zeal.
Similarly,
the very fact that the two ideas of imminence and certainty are joined in one
word in the Greek language suggests at least one reason why the Greek New
Testament may more naturally employ a language of imminence with regards to the
coming Day of Judgment: there is in the Greek language some association of the
idea of certainty with the idea of imminence, at least in the commonly used
Greek word “mello”.
A second
reason that the language of imminence seems to have been used with reference to
the coming Day of Judgment by Christ is to stir our constant preparation for
judgment. As we read in Matthew
24:43-44, “But know this, that if the
goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would
have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an
hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
So in order to effect our preparation, He employed language which would
stir us to such preparation and kept us somewhat in the dark about which
generation it would occur.
Third,
scripture suggests such language is employed that we will not imagine our time
perspective is the same as God’s (Psalm 90:4, II Peter 3 ). This then drives us to be more like God in
our perspective of time. In other
words, it works patience in us, even as it works watchfulness.
Finally,
in certain instances the terminology of imminence is employed because a typical
event was to be fulfilled near term, but its anti-type and ultimate fulfillment
was yet in the distant future. We
witness an instance of how a type is to be fulfilled imminently, yet its
anti-type in the distant future, in the prophecy of Haggai 2:6 (“For thus saith
the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the
heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land];”). A.R. Faussett
comments on this verse, and allusions to it in the book of Hebrews, as follows:
“6. Yet once, it is
a little while--or, "(it is) yet a
little while." The Hebrew for
"once" expresses the indefinite article "a" [MAURER]. Or,
"it is yet only a little
while"; literally, "one little," that is, a single brief space
till a series of movements is to begin; namely, the shakings of nations soon to
begin which are to end in the advent of Messiah, "the desire of all
nations" [MOORE]. The shaking of
nations implies judgments of wrath on the foes of God's people, to precede
the reign of the Prince of peace ( Isa 13:13 ). The kingdoms of the world are but
the scaffolding for God's spiritual temple, to be thrown down when their
purpose is accomplished. The transitoriness of all that is earthly should lead
men to seek "peace" in Messiah's everlasting kingdom ( Hag 2:9 Hbr 12:27, 28 )
[MOORE]. The Jews in Haggai's times
hesitated about going forward with the work, through dread of the world power,
Medo-Persia, influenced by the craft of Samaria. The prophet assures them this
and all other world powers are to fall before Messiah, who is to be associated
with this temple; therefore they need fear naught. So Hbr 12:26 , which quotes this passage; the
apostle compares the heavier punishment which awaits the disobedient under the
New Testament with that which met such under the Old Testament. At the
establishment of the Sinaitic covenant, only the earth was shaken to introduce
it, but now heaven and earth and all things are to be shaken, that is, along
with prodigies in the world of nature, all kingdoms that stand in the way of
Messiah's kingdom, "which cannot be shaken," are to be upturned ( Dan 2:35, 44 Mat 21:44 ).
Hbr 12:27 ,
"Yet once more," favors English Version. Paul condenses together
the two verses of Haggai ( Hag
2:6, 7 , and Hag
2:21, 22 ), implying that it was one and the same shaking, of
which the former verses of Haggai denote the beginning, the latter the end. The
shaking began introductory to the first advent; it will be finished at the
second. Concerning the former, compare Mat 3:17 27:51 28:2 Act 2:2 4:31 ; concerning
the latter, Mat 24:7 Rev
16:20 18:20 20:11 [BENGEL]. There is scarcely a prophecy of
Messiah in the Old Testament which does not, to some extent at least, refer to
His second coming [SIR ISAAC NEWTON]. Psa 68:8 mentions the heavens dropping near the mountain (Sinai); but Haggai speaks of
the whole created heavens: "Wait only a
little while, though the promised event is not apparent yet; for soon will
God change things for the better: do
not stop short with these preludes and fix your eyes on the present state of
the temple [CALVIN]. God shook the heavens
by the lightnings at Sinai; the earth,
that it should give forth waters; the sea,
that it should be divided asunder. In Christ's time God shook the heaven, when He spake from it; the earth, when it quaked; the sea,
when He commanded the winds and waves [GROTIUS]. CICERO records at the time of
Christ the silencing of the heathen oracles; and DIO, the fall of the idols in
the Roman capitol.”
The
events associated with the reconstruction of the Temple following the
Babylonian captivity near Haggai’s day constitute merely the beginning or
typical fulfillment of this prophecy.
As Calvin observes:
“…we have said that what the Prophet had in view was to show that the Jews were not to fix their eyes and their minds on the appearance of the Temple at the time: "Allow," he says, "and give place to hope, because your present state shall not long remain; for the Lord will shake the heaven and the earth; think then of God's power, how great it is; does he not by his providence rule both the earth and the heaven? And he will shake all things above and below, rather than not to restore his Church; he will rather change the appearance of the whole world, than that redemption should not be fully accomplished. Be not then unwilling to be satisfied with these preludes, but know what God's power can do: for though it may be necessary to throw the heaven and the earth into confusions, yet this shall be done, rather than that your enemies should prevent that full restoration, of which the Prophets have so often spoken." But the Apostle very justly says, that the gospel is here set in contrast with the law; for God exhibited his wonderful power, when the law was promulgated on mount Sinai; but a fuller power shone forth at the coming of Christ, for then the heaven, as well as the earth, was shaken. It is not, then, without reason that the Apostle concludes that God speaks now to us from heaven, for his majesty appears more splendid in the gospel than formerly in the law: and hence we are less excusable, if we despise him now speaking in the person of his only begotten Son, and thus speaking to show to us that the whole world is subject to him. He then adds, I will move all the nations, and they shall come. “
We see
the application of this principle in the New Testament especially with respect
to the Second Advent. Fairbairn
describes it this way:
“There is a coming spoken of in New Testament
Scripture which may be designated in the proper sense terminal, and therefore
also visible; so that every eye shall see it, and every heart be filled either
with joy or dismay on account of it.
And there are comings of a provisional kind, which all point toward the
ultimate manifestation, and differ from it only in being less palpable in their
nature, and less complete and lasting in their results.” (p. 449)
In some
cases like the parable of the virgins the reference is clearly to the final
coming; but in other cases like the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Mt
21:33-43) the coming is clearly to a provisional coming (in this case the
judgment on Israel in 70 AD). But in
Matthew 24 “it is impossible altogether to separate between the immediate and
the final coming. To a certain extent,
the two are intermingled together, and the one is contemplated as the type and
presage of the other.” (p. 454)
The
imminent language of examples like Haggai 2:6-7 as interpreted by Hebrew 12:27
thus reminds us of the danger of a preterist treatment with regards to time
indicators.
So the
fact that imminent language is employed with respect to matters relating to the
coming Day of Judgment should come as no surprise to us. And its occurrence in these instances is
hardly arbitrary. Generally speaking
time indicators should be understood in human time, but with respect to matters
relating to the coming Day of Judgment, we must understand them in divine
time. And we should not compromise our
doctrine of the Day of Judgment to accommodate wrong notions about its
imminence.
PRINCIPLES OF SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION
There
are many possible hermeneutic formulae we could conceive to interpret Biblical
prophecy. Preterists employ a formula
that says “soon” always equals 70 AD.
Dr. Kenneth Gentry explains this preteristic (whether full or partial)
hermeneutic in the July 1997 issue of Chalcedon Report, in an article
entitled "A Brief Theological Analysis of Hyper-Preterism" :
"I hold that passages specifically delimiting the time-frame by temporal
indicators (such as "this generation," "shortly," "at
hand," "near," and similar wording) are to be applied to A. D.
70. One could imagine someone else who had a formula like “soon”
always equals 500 AD. Etc. Or someone might have a formula that said
every prophetic symbol should be interpreted literalistically, unless noted as
figurative in the immediate context.
But the real test of these multitudes of possible prophetic hermeneutic
formulae is the Bible itself, and how scripture teaches prophecies should be
interpreted. Therefore, a key issue in
a discussion between a preterist and a historicist should be how scripture
interprets other scriptural prophecy.
Let’s
follow one particular prophecy – that concerning the promised rest to the
people of God- through scripture, and see what we learn from it regarding
scriptural prophecy. Now in Joshua
21:44-45 we read concerning this prophecy of rest: “And the LORD gave them rest
round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood
not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their
enemies into their hand. There failed
not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel;
all came to pass.” And in Joshua 22:4
we read: “And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he
promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, [and] unto
the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on
the other side Jordan.” So does that
verse mean all those prophetic promises made to the fathers were completely
fulfilled in every sense of the word, typically as well as antitypically? After all, does not Joshua say he had done
what he promised? Well the answer is
“no”, because we must not interpret Biblical prophecy in this way. It becomes obvious the answer is “no” when
we read Psalm 95 as well as Hebrews 4.
We may infer from Psalm 95 that there must be a remaining and greater
rest which the Jews did not enter with Joshua, for in Psalm 95 the people are
warned not to fall short of entering the rest, which must mean there is a
higher rest than that of the typical Canaan.
Accordingly, we read in Hebrews 4:8: “For if Joshua had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.” If the rest of God meant merely typical
Canaan, God would not after their entrance into that land, have spoken of
another future day of entering the rest.
There
are many interpretive principles we can learn from this example, but two
lessons we certainly should learn from it include:
1. Just because some promised condition is said to be
fulfilled in a given time and place, we cannot assume that there is not a
fuller sense in which it has yet to be fulfilled. We must consider all of the scriptural evidence.
2. Scriptural prophecy often incorporates typology, and
we must ask if there is any fuller and more ultimate sense in which scripture
would indicate a prophecy will be fulfilled.
We must not assume that even the New Testament with its prophecies does
not include some of these typologies, for even then it could be said “now we
see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)
Now,
let’s consider another prophecy: the besiegement and desolation of Jerusalem
followed by their gathering and redemption by God.
Deut
28:49-52 – “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end
of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt
not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the
person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of
thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which [also]
shall not leave thee [either] corn, wine, or oil, [or] the increase of thy
kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates,
until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout
all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy
land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.”
Deut
30:4-7 – “If [any] of thine be driven out unto the outmost [parts] of heaven,
from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch
thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers
possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply
thee above thy fathers. And the LORD
thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the
LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest
live. And the LORD thy God will put all
these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted
thee.”
Jeremiah
prophesied concerning the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent return of the
Jews to Jerusalem:
Jeremiah
19:9- “And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of
their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the
siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives,
shall straiten them.”
But
should we think that the prophecies of Deuteronomy were really finally
fulfilled when there was the return from the Babylonian captivity? No, for we learn in Daniel that the
Babylonian captivity and subsequent redemption are typical of even subsequent
such events:
Daniel
9:27- “And he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of
abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that
determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Daniel
11:31- “And arms shall stand on his
part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the
daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”
Daniel
12:11- “And from the time [that] the
daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate
set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
Especially
the Daniel 11 and 12 desolations have primary reference to what is recorded in
I Maccabees 1:54; 6,7. But we read how it was typical of the besiegement of a
later such desolation, for we read in Luke 21:20- “And when you shall see Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.”
Compare
as well its parallel passages in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. This certainly has primary reference to the
besiegement of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in 70 AD, but it is in another
respect merely typical of other typical besiegements such as that found in
Revelation 11:2- “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and
measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they
tread under foot forty [and] two months.”
But
finally it will be yet once again fulfilled in the besiegement described in
Revelation 20:9 which had been ultimately promised in Deuteronomy 28-30, and
even earlier:
Rev.
20:9- “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of
the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them.” Immediately
after this besiegement will be the Great Day of Judgment which will usher in
the new heavens and new earth, wherein will be the consummate fulfillments of
the divine promises.
Here
would be some questions I would raise with preterists from simply these first
two examples: