Our Blessed Hope
by
Bill Grimes, Co-Editor
|
Looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13 AV) |
Contents
Introduction
The Foundation
The Irreducible Minumum
Jesus Will Literally Return
He will Resurrect the Dead out of Their Graves
He will Judge The Living and The Dead
This is the Teaching that makes Heretical Preterism Heretical
Summary
Bibliography
The Heretical Preterist doctrine that
all Biblical prophecies were fulfilled in 70AD first rocked my world about
three years ago. The implications
astounded me: no resurrection to look
forward to, no final judgment, and a New Heavens and a New Earth in which evil
still lives and prospers.
I began to dig into God’s Word. Heretical Preterist doctrine crumbled before its plain teaching. His Holy Spirit gave me many new insights. These insights are incorporated into this article.
I present this article to my fellow
Christians who may be struggling with this doctrine as I did. I also present this article to those who are
considering Heretical Preterist doctrine but haven’t made up their minds.
This article represents my most
complete case against Heretical Preterism to this day. I pray that it will become yet another arrow
in the quiver of the faithful to combat this heresy and to remind my brothers
and sisters that there is still something to look forward to.
The Origin of this Article
This article originated with notes
that I prepared for a debate with Heretical Preterists in Tucker, Georgia in
the summer of 2001. I edited them for
publication, adding insights gleaned from that debate and from subsequent Bible
study since that time. This article is
the result.
Literal Interpretation of Scripture
R. C. Sproul writes in his book, Knowing Scripture, that to interpret the Bible literally means to interpret it as literature. Literal history in the Bible is taken as literal history. Figures of speech in the Bible are interpreted as figures of speech. The Bible contains every figure of speech found in other literature.
I will illustrate what I mean by this.
I believe the meaning of the phrase
“all the world” in Luke 2:1 is the Roman world.
Caesar Augustus was unlikely to go and try to count the Chinese.
And it
came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed. (Luke
2:1 AV)
I believe the meaning of the phrase
“the world” in John 3:16 is the planet earth because no qualification is given.
For God
so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 AV)
The interpretive guideline that I have followed in this work goes
something like this, “If the plain sense of a passage of Scripture makes common
sense, seek no other sense, unless the particulars of the words compel you to
do so.”
The Bible doctrines of the resurrection and eternal
judgment are foundational teachings according to the author of Hebrews:
Therefore
leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;
not laying again the foundation
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of
baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead, and of
eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2 AV)
The defense against Heretical Preterism may be
summarized in the following four passages:
1. Jesus will literally return.
Which also
said, Ye men of
2.
He will resurrect all the dead out of their graves.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28-29 AV)
3.
He will judge the world, the living and the dead.
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. (Acts 17:31 AV)
4.
This is the teaching that makes Heretical Preterism heretical.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will
increase unto more ungodliness. And
their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who
concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
(Second Timothy 2:15-18 AV)
Each
of these points is discussed in more detail below.
1. Jesus Will
Literally Return
Which also said, Ye
men of
Consider Ken Gentry’s commentary on
Acts 1:11.
……. Acts 1 clearly defines Christ’s
Second Advent in terms of His ascension, which was physical and visible. For example, in Acts 1:8-11 Luke is careful
to say the disciples were “beholding” Him as He ascended; He was
received “from the eyes of them”(vs. 9b); they were “gazing” as
He was “going” (vs.10); they were “looking” (vs.11); they “beheld”
(vs. 11). Clearly His ascension was a
visible and glorious phenomenon involving His tangible resurrected body. And there was an actual visible cloud
associated with it (vs.10). The angelic
messengers resolutely declare “this same Jesus” (i.e., the Jesus they knew for
over three years, who is now in a tangible resurrected body: will “so come in
like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (vs. 11). The Greek word on tropon
(5158) literally means “what manner.”
The Greek phrase “never indicates mere certainty or vague resemblance;
but wherever it occurs in the New Testament, denotes identity of mode or
manner” (A. Alexander, Acts, ad loc.).
Consequently, we have express biblical warrant to expect a visible,
bodily, glorious return of Christ paralleling in the ascension. The hyper-preterist
position goes contrary to this clear teaching of Scripture. -Ken Gentry, A Brief Theological Analysis of Hyper-Preterism
The Bible teaches that Jesus will
come again in the same manner that
He ascended into heaven and will receive us to Himself. The following verses speak of the certainty
and visibility of His second coming on The Last Day.
Let not
your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.
For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
And to you
who are troubled rest with us, when the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels, (Second Thessalonians 1:7 AV)
And as it
is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many; and unto them that look for him shall
he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28
AV)
There are no definite time statements in these Second Advent passages.
Marvel not at this: for the hour
is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice, And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28-29 AV)
One Heretical Preterist once said to
me, “The term ‘resurrection of the body’ is not found anywhere in Scripture.”
And he is right; it’s not found
anywhere in the Bible. Neither are the
terms “Trinity” or “missions”. But most every Christian would agree that
these terms are taught in Scripture.
The resurrection of the body is
taught in the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till
the heavens be
no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest
hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me
secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest
appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I
wait, till my change come. (Job 14:12-14 AV Cross reference: First Corinthians 15:51-53 AV)
For I know
that my redeemer liveth, and hat
he shall stand at the latter day
upon the earth: And though after my skin worms
destroy thisbody,
yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold, and not another; though
my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27 AV)
Therefore
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption. (Psalms 16:9-10 AV)
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. (Daniel 12:2 AV)
I will ransom them from the power of
the grave; I
will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be
thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. (Hosea 13:14 AV)
Cross-reference with First
Corinthians 15:55.
The New Testament
Marvel not
at this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28-29 AV)
And this
is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I
should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. And
this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44
AV)
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath eternal life; and I will
raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54 AV)
Martha saith unto him, I
know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
(John 11:24 AV)
Charles Swindoll
writes: “The body of every believer that
now resides in a casket, every believer torn apart by ravenous beasts, or by
the elements of the sea, or by warfare, or awful murder will be received by
Christ at His return.”
The resurrection is the hope of the
ages.
For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his
resurrection: (Romans 6:5 AV)
Our resurrection bodies will be like
His.
Who shall change our vile body, that
it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby
He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. (Philippians 3:21 AV)
This will be no re-embodiment like
Heretical Preterists teach.
Re-embodiment means that you receive a new body, and your old body stays
in your grave. Jesus’ body was not left
in the grave. Ours will not be left
there either.
And when they found not his body, they
came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he
was alive. (Luke 24:23 AV)
Our “natural” body will be changed into flesh unlike anything we
know now.
[Thou]
fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except
it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bear grain, it may
chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]: But God giveth it a
body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body…….So also
[is] the resurrection of the dead. It is
sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour;
it is raised in glory: it is sown in
weakness; it is raised in power: It is
sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There
is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (First Corinthians
15:36-44 AV)
The wheat seed is given the wheat
plant for its body. The wheat plant is still wheat, but is so unlike the seed.
Our mortal body is as different from our resurrection body as the seed is from
the plant that springs from it.
Heretical Preterists have two models
concerning our resurrection body. One is
the “Immortal Body Now” model, which holds that each born-again Christian
received his or her resurrection body the moment they received Christ as their
Savior and Lord.
The other is the “Immortal Body at
Death” model. This model holds that
Christians receive their immortal bodies at the moment they die and go to be
with the Lord. Their mortal bodies stay
in the grave. This is not a
resurrection; this is a re-embodiment.
Paul builds his entire case for the
resurrection of believers on Jesus’ resurrection. See First Corinthians 15. The Bible says that Jesus’ resurrection is
the pattern for the believers’ resurrection.
His grave was empty that first Easter. Ours will be, too, at the Last
Day. The Bible does not support these two Heretical Preterist models.
What was His glorious body like?
His body was physical. The women touched Him.
And as
they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch
Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and [to]
My God and your God. (John 20:17 AV)
Jesus changed form in His
resurrection body.
After that
He appeared in another form
unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. (Mark 16:12 AV, Cross-reference Luke 24:13)
But their
eyes were holden that they should not know Him. (Luke 24:16 AV)
And their
eyes were opened, and they new Him; and He vanished out of their sight. (Luke 24:31)
Jesus appeared suddenly. He had flesh and bones. They touched Him. He still had His scars. He ate.
And as
they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of
them and saith unto the, Peace [be] unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and
supposed that they had seen a spirit. Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.
And when He had thus spoken, He shewed
them [His] hands and [His] feet.
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto
them, Have ye here any meat? And they
gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and of an
honeycomb. And He took [it], and did eat
before them. (Luke 24:36-43 AV)
What can we learn from these
passages concerning Jesus’ resurrection body?
He was not a ghost. He had flesh
and bones. It was an entirely different kind of flesh. He ate. He changed form. He appeared suddenly.
According to Paul’s “seed analogy”,
our mortal body is as different from our resurrection body as the seed is from
the plant that springs from it. God gave
to the wheat seed the wheat plant for its body.
It was still wheat, and yet it was so different. (See
First Corinthians 15:36-44)
We receive this resurrection body in
the “twinkling of an eye”.
Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. (First Corinthians
15:51-53 AV)
O death, where[is]
thy sting?
Our resurrection will be a bodily
resurrection. The resurrection of the
body was the blessed hope of Old Testament and New Testament saints alike. It is still the blessed hope of the Christian
today. No bodily resurrections occurred
in the 70 AD destruction of
Concerning Time Statements in Resurrection Passages
For the heretical preterist,
there is a deplorable lack of “near” statements in passages that deal with the
resurrection. The notable exception is
Matthew 24:31. Matthew 24:31 comes between the “near” statements of Matthew
24:29 and Matthew 24:34. Let’s examine
the following passage in detail.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:……. (Matthew 24:29 AV)
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. (Matthew 24:31 AV)
. Verily I
say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till
all these things be fulfilled. (Matthew
24:34 AV)
The first problem in this passage is
created by the word “immediately” in verse 29.
It appears that Jesus returns and resurrects the elect after 70AD. However, look at the parallel passage in Luke
21:23-24.
But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give
suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress
in the land, and wrath upon this people.
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations: and
This entry from The Eclectic Notes sheds light on Matthew 24:29.
"Immediately
after the tribulation of those days" The word "immediately" has
given rise to much difficulty, on account of the hasty conclusion to which some
have come that "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" must
mean immediately after the destruction of
Gentiles continue to tread upon
This prophecy has a double
reference; first, to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem: and, secondly, to the close of this age, or
dispensation; the former being a local type of what is to be world-wide in the
latter, (Luke
21:36; Revelation 3:10). This
providential coming of the Son of Man to destroy the temple and city, which was
to be done before that generation should pass away, shadows forth His majestic
coming at the end of the age.
Matthew 24:29 states that “‘immediately’ after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” the day of the Lord shall come. In Matthew 24:3-31, Jesus gives an overview of history from His resurrection to the Last Day. Verses 3-28 deal with 70AD, and verses 29-31 deal with the Last Day.
Now, let’s deal with the second
difficulty, Matthew 24:34.
Verily I
say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled.
(Matthew 24:34 AV)
Jesus certainly seems to be saying
that all these prophecies will be fulfilled within a generation. The difficulties with this interpretation are
obvious. No resurrection occurred in 70AD. No worldwide judgment occurred in
70AD. The old world was not destroyed, and the New Heavens and New Earth did
not come in 70AD. Either Jesus was
wrong, or we grossly misunderstand what He said.
There are three possibilities.
The first possibility is that the
Greek word translated “generation”,
aeneg (1074), can mean, “race” according to the Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, (Second
Edition), page 154. The New International Version and The New American Standard Version of the
Bible include this alternate translation in footnotes on this verse. Jesus could be saying that the Jewish race
will not pass away until all these prophecies are fulfilled.
The second possibility is that the
English phrase, “This generation”, refers to a future generation that Jesus was
talking about instead of the generation He was talking to. This option is based
on the grammatical construction of the Greek phrase underlying “this generation”,
aeneg (1074)
htua (3778). To illustrate this, let’s
look at another verse of Scripture where a similar construction is used. The Greek phrase in this case is marturia <3141> auth <3778> {THIS TESTIMONY}.
One of
themselves, even
a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway
liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This (3778) witness (3141) is
true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
(Titus 1:12-13 AV)
Concerning this
passage, Rusty Entrekin writes, “Here, the ‘witness’
that Paul is referring to is VERY distant in time. It was given by the poet Epimenides around 659 BC. But it is ‘near in
consideration’." In the same way,
Jesus could be referring to a generation far into the future that would not die
until they saw all the prophecies in Matthew 24-25 fulfilled.
I favor yet a third possibility.
Jesus used the phrase “all these
things" in the same sense in Matthew 24:34 that the disciples used it in
Matthew 24:3. “All these things” refers
to the signs leading up to and including the destruction of the temple and
With the exception of Matthew 24:29,
34, the only “time statements” that Heretical Preterists can find in
“resurrection” passages are pronouns.
Here are some examples.
Behold, I shew 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
trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God
bring with him. For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we
which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these
words. (First
Thessalonians 4:13-18 AV)
Pronouns are not time statements! You can arrive at some bizarre conclusions if
all pronouns are time statements in prophetic passages. Examine First Corinthians 15 as an example.
The whole chapter deals with the subject of the resurrection, so I think it is
safe to say that any pronoun found in the passage could be construed as a time
statement. Consider the following verse.
For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according
to the scriptures; (First Corinthians 15:3 AV)
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church
on this occasion. So “our” must
refer to the sins of Paul and his intended audience. This means that Christ died only for the sins of Paul and the
Corinthian church. This conclusion is ridiculous, but this is what you get when
you apply the Heretical Preterist method of interpreting pronouns as time
statements in prophetic passages.
Isaiah 53 is one of the most well
known prophetic passages in all of Scripture.
Bible scholars universally recognize it as a prophecy of the “suffering
Messiah”. Examine the pronouns in this
passage.
Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For He
shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry
ground: He hath no
form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see Him, there is no beauty
that we should desire
Him. He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from Him; He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we
did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his
own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
I think the point is self-explanatory about this passage. If pronouns are time statements in all prophetic passages, then Jesus came in the eighth century BC.
Again, this conclusion is
ridiculous, but this is what you get when you apply the Heretical Preterist
method of interpreting pronouns as time statements in prophetic passages.
So how do we understand the pronouns
in First Corinthians 15 and
First century believers were the audience in these two passages. However, we must take these pronouns as “editorial” pronouns that refer to all believers everywhere and at all times. The Heretical Preterists that I have encountered are very fond of saying, “The Scriptures were not written to us.”
I reply, “They may not have been
written to us, but they were certainly written for us.”
Consider the following paragraph
from C. Jonathin Seraiah.
…and he (Paul) can use “we” to refer
to all true believers (including us today) who ever did or will live (Romans
4:24; 5:8; 6:4; 15:1); Second Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 4:28;
Ephesians 2:3; Philippians 3:3; First Thessalonians 5:8; Titus 3:3,5;
etc.) Considering that this last
usage (all believers for all time) is the most common for Paul, and considering
that the context of
First Thessalonians 4 clearly portrays a physical resurrection,
which has not yet occurred, we would be hard-pressed to say that Paul believed
firmly that he and his readers are the “we” who would be alive when Christ came.
(C. Jonathin Seraiah, The End of All Things, page 178,
emphasis mine.)
Neither is
lemlnei
(3195) a time
statement in Acts 24:15.
And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15 AV)
Heretical Preterists say that
lemlnei
(3195), the Greek word translated “that there shall be” in Acts 24:15, should
be translated “about to be”.
Heretical Preterists use this verse
to say that the resurrection was going to happen in a very short period of
time. Jay Green translates
lemlnei (3195) in Acts 24:15 as “about to
be” in The Interlinear Bible. All
other translations translate this word, as some form of “shall be”.
W. E. Vine defines
lemlnei
(3195) in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament
Words, page 1038, in this
way: to be about (to be or do) is used
of purpose, certainty, compulsion,
or necessity. Only nine times out of the 110 times in the
New Testament, where
lemlnei (3195) is used does the context
call for the “about to be” translation.
Consider the following verse as an example of such a case. Peter and John were going into the temple
right then.
Who seeing
Peter and John about to go
into the temple asked an alms.
The context determines whether or not this Greek word should be translated “about to be”. There is nothing in the context of Paul’s speech in Acts 24 that compels one to the “about to be” translation of verse 15. Paul did not speak of the nearness of the resurrection. He spoke of its certainty.
I believe the best translation of
this verse is the rendering given to it by the New American Standard Bible
translators.
Having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the
wicked.
The resurrection on the Last Day is
to be a resurrection of the body. This
is the blessed hope of believers throughout the ages. There are no “near” statements regarding this
blessed event. I believe I have
demonstrated adequately that in Matthew 24:4-31 Jesus outlined history from His
resurrection to the Last Day.
The first paragraph, Matthew 24:4-28, refers to 70AD, and Matthew 24:29-31 refers to the Last Day which occurs immediately after the “times of the Gentiles” is over. This places that reference to the resurrection at the Last Day.
…….of eternal judgment…….
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. (Acts 17:31 AV)
I
charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge
the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2 Timothy 4:1 AV)
The last judgment occurs in very
close connection with the general resurrection.
There is a day referred to throughout the New Testament as: “that day”, “the Last Day”, “the Day of Judgment”, “the day of redemption”, “the Second Time”, etc. I will refer to this day as “the Last Day” for the remainder of this article.
Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
(Matthew 7:21-22 AV)
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not
my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I
have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
A good man
out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth
good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth
forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of
judgment. (Matthew 12:35-36 AV)
And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30 AV)
And as it
is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28 AV)
A number of things happen on the
Last Day. The Last Day comes like a “thief in the night” (First Thessalonians
5:2). Jesus appears on the Last Day
(Second Timothy 4:1) in the same manner that He left (Acts 1:11). He will be glorified on the Last Day (Second
Thessalonians 1:10). All the dead will
be raised (John 5:28-29; 6:44). Jesus
will judge the all of the resurrected dead and all of those living at the time
of His return according to their deeds (Matthew 25:31ff; Acts 10:42, 17:31;
Second Timothy 4:1).
The resurrection and judgment of all
men will occur on the Last Day.
These verses also teach that resurrection of all humanity and the
judgment of all humanity are inseparable events.
Marvel not
at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection
of damnation. (John 5:28-29 AV)
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:
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:
(Matthew 25:31-32 AV)
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. (Acts 17:31 AV)
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. (Second Corinthians 5:10 AV)
And to you
who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his
power; 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. (Second Thessalonians 1:7-10 AV)
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the
quick and the dead at his
appearing and his kingdom; (Second Timothy 4:1 AV)
Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that
day: and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love his
appearing. (Second Timothy 4:8 AV)
These verses clearly speak of a universal worldwide judgment. All dead
will be raised and judged. Those who are
living at that time will be judged as well.
This is what the phrase “the quick
and the dead” means in Second Timothy 4:1 and Acts 10:42.
In contrast, the destruction of the
temple and
Wherefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;
and some of them shall ye scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute them
from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,
from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All
these things shall come upon this
generation. (Matthew 23:34-36 AV)
For the
days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall
cast a trench about thee, and
compass thee round, and keep thee
in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and
they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy
visitation. (Luke 19:43-44 AV)
These verses clearly speak of
The disciples had a good idea of
when this judgment would take place because Jesus gave them signs which, when
taken together, signaled that the end of the Jewish nation was near in Matthew
24:1-35. However, He clearly spoke of
the Last Day in Matthew 24:36 and following.
The nature of Jesus’ glorious
appearance, the resurrection, and the judgment indicates that the Last Day is
still future. Acts 1:11 and Revelation
1:7 indicate a glorious physical appearing which every person, living and dead, will see. John
5:28-29 speaks of a resurrection of the body.
Acts 17:31 and Matthew 25:31 and following indicate a general judgment
of all people, living and dead. In contrast, the 70AD judgment of
4.
This is the teaching that makes Heretical Preterism heretical:
But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among
you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And
Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they
will increase unto more ungodliness. And
their word will eat as doth a canker: of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the
truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and
overthrow the faith of some. (Second Timothy 2:15-18 AV)
Peter writes of false prophets who
secretly bring in “damnable heresies” even teaching that the Lord had not
bought them. The Greek word translated
“damnable” in the King James Version of the Bible means destructive. A young friend of mine once observed, “Show
me a heresy that isn’t destructive.”
The Apostle Paul, writing under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, names the heresy that Hymenaeus
and Philetus taught.
They taught that the resurrection is already past. No doubt Paul knew of the saints who were
resurrected right after Jesus’ resurrection in Matthew 27:52-53. He also knew of Jesus’ teachings of a
spiritual resurrection taught in John 5:24-25. He wrote about it in Ephesians
2. These are not why he took issue
with Hymenaeus and Philetus.
Why? Because Jesus
taught these things. Paul took
issue with Hymenaeus and Philetus
because they were teaching that the resurrection of the body had already
happened.
Paul goes to say that these “vain and idle babblings” “eat like a canker” and “overthrows the faith of some”. Another translation of “canker” is gangrene.
Diabetes afflicted a man at a church
I used to attend. I remember him coming to church one Sunday on crutches with
half of a foot amputated. Then he missed
several Sundays. The next time I saw
him, his leg was amputated just below the knee.
He missed several more Sundays.
The last time I saw him he had lost his leg up to mid thigh. As the diabetes cut off the circulation to
his leg, gangrene set in. The doctors had to amputate his leg piece by
piece. Gangrene is a morbid picture of
destruction. The analogy of heresy to
gangrene fits.
The teaching of the Heretical
Preterists that the resurrection is past eats at faith in the same way. Error begets error. As I read the writings of Heretical
Preterists, I am seeing this happen. I read one of Ed Stevens’ articles on the
web some months ago in which he wrote that the Holy Spirit is no longer
operative as the paraclete.
This heresy is overthrowing Ed Stevens’ faith and, through him, the faith of
others. I see it in his writings. It is a “damnable” or a destructive
heresy.
In closing remember this. My defense
against Heretical Preterism may be summarized in the following four passages.
Jesus will literally return.
Which also
said, Ye men of
He will resurrect all the dead out
of their graves.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28-29 AV)
He will judge the world.
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. (Acts 17:31 AV)
Teaching that the resurrection is
past makes Heretical Preterists heretical.