Preterist Views of the Resurrection
By Kenneth Perkins
There are at least three Preterist
paradigms concerning “the resurrection,” by which is meant the ultimate
eschatological and soteriolgocial resurrection that occurred at the coming of
Christ. These are the corporate resurrection, what will be called the
“resurrection of regeneration,” and the post-mortem view. Let us examine these
views.
The Corporate
Resurrection
The corporate view holds
that the resurrection is the raising of the nation of
[15]
You have increased the nation, O LORD, You have increased the nation,
You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land. [16] O
LORD, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your
chastening was upon them. [17] As the pregnant woman approaches {the time} to
give birth, She writhes {and} cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before
You, O LORD. [18] We were pregnant, we writhed {in labor,} We gave birth, as it
seems, {only} to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor
were inhabitants of the world born. [19] Your dead will live; Their corpses
will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For
your dew {is as} the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the
departed spirits. (Isaiah 26:15-19, NASB)
It is also based on Ezekiel
37, where the restoration of
[11]
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Various other passages may
support this eschatological viewpoint:
[5]
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring
Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in
the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), [6] He says, “It is too
small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light
of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” [7]
Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel {and} its Holy One, To the despised
One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will
see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You” (Isaiah 49:5-7, NASB).
Here one sees from God the
promise to “raise up” His servant
Another possible passage
speaking of this resurrection is found in Hosea:
“Come;
let us return to the LORD. For He has torn {us,} but He will heal us; He has
wounded {us,} but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He
will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him (Hosea 6:1, 2,
NASB).
Here the restoration of
[20]
“A Redeemer will come to
[1]
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen
upon you. [2] “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the
peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.
[3] “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your
rising. (Isaiah 59:20-60:3, NASB)
The last verses of Isaiah
59 are found in Romans 11:26, 27. Taken with Isaiah 26:19, one can see a close
parallel to Isaiah 60:1 in the New Testament scriptures:
But
all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything
that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And
arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians
Considering the
similarities between this passage and Isaiah 26 and 60, it is very possible
that this passage is an allusion to these texts, and is therefore another a
testimony of the dead body of Israel which was to rise and receive light from
the YHWH in the Son, Christ, in the existence of the covenant promised by YHWH.
Thus, these passages, and many others, point to a raising of the people of
Another important thing
which is to be taken into account is the fact that Christ is ultimately God’s “
[8]
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
[9] knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him. [10] For the death that He died, He
died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God
(Romans 6:8, NASB).
Just as the nation was to
die and be raised to live toward God, Christ did the same.
A similar parallel can be
seen in the forty-day temptation of Christ in the wilderness and the forty-year
“transition period” of the church from the cross to destruction of the temple
(Matthew 4:1-11; 1 Corinthians 10:1-11; Hebrews 3:7-4:11). Other examples
include the rule of the saints promised both the Son and to all believers
(Psalm 2; Acts 4:24-28; 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5; Revelation 2;26, 27) and the
parallel of the calling of Israel out of Egypt and the calling of the church
out of its bondage to sin (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:13-15; Romans 8:20, 21).
Why are these parallels
between the experiences of Christ Himself and the church significant? The Bible
explains:
[15]
Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is {only} a man’s
covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds
conditions to it. [16] Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.
He does not say, “And to seeds,” as {referring} to many, but {rather} to one,
“And to your seed,” that is, Christ. [17] What I am saying is this: the Law,
which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant
previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. [18] For if the
inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has
granted it to Abraham by means of a promise (Galatians
The promised covenant was
made between Abraham and his “seed,” the Christ. How, then, does one become a
part of this covenant?
[23]
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to
the faith which was later to be revealed. [24] Therefore the Law has become our
tutor {to lead us} to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. [25] But
now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. [26] For you are all
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. [27] For all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise (Galatians
In being clothed with
Christ, one becomes an heir of the promise and a descendant of Abraham. In
fact, when people are united with Christ, they become “…members of His body”
(Ephesians
As Christ was the perfect
servant of God, it is in Him that believers are able to live righteously:
[1]
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2]
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law
of sin and of death. [3] For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through
the flesh, God {did:} sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
{as an offering} for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] so that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1-4, NASB).
Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no
sin {to be} sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him (2 Corinthians
Thus, in the raised Christ,
the people of God were raised at the parousia.
The Resurrection of
Regeneration
The resurrection of
regeneration view generally sees the resurrection as the spiritual rising to
new life. Thus, the resurrection is spiritual regeneration:
[1]
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
[2] May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? [3]
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into His death? [4] Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of
life. [5] For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His
death, certainly we shall also be {in the likeness} of His resurrection,
[6] knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} in order that our
body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to
sin; [7] for he who has died is freed from sin. [8] Now if we have died with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, [9] knowing that
Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no
longer is master over Him. [10] For the death that He died, He died to sin once
for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. [11] Even so consider
yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans
6:1-11, NASB)
Here and elsewhere (cf.
Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians
Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, {there} is
liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18, NASB).
[24]
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on
behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in
Christ’s afflictions. [25] Of {this church} I was made a minister according to
the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully
carry out the {preaching of} the word of God, [26] {that is,} the mystery which
has been hidden from the {past} ages and generations, but has now been manifested
to His saints, [27] to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory (Colossians 1:24-27, NASB).
Both of these passages
speak of the progressive nature of the transformation, renewing work of the
Lord by the Spirit prior to the parousia. Notice how this would change
at the coming of the Lord:
[50]
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
At the parousia,
those living would be changed, and would put on immortality. Before this,
eternal life was a hope for which the Spirit of God acted as a guarantee:
Now
He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also
sealed us and gave {us} the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge (2
Corinthians
For
indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not
want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be
swallowed up by life. [5] Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who
gave to us the Spirit as a pledge (2 Corinthians 5:4, 5, NASB).
In
Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit
of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of {God’s own} possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians
1:13, 14, NASB).
Do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption (Ephesians
The Spirit, as one can see,
acted before the parousia as seal upon those who were to receive the
salvation for which the first-century believers hoped, but which had not yet
arrived.
For
in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he
{already} sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we
wait eagerly for it (Romans
What was this hope? As we
have seen, it is the culmination of the formation of Christ in the believer. It
is also the arrival of eternal life:
As
for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you
heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in
the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life
(1 John
This inheritance had not
yet been realized:
But
to which of the angels has He ever said, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE
YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
(Hebrews 1:13, 14, NASB)
Note how some other
translations render verse 14:
They
are all spirits of spiritual service being sent out to render service for the
sake of the ones being about to be inheriting salvation, are they not?
(Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament)
Are
they not all ministering spirits being sent out to minister for the sake of
those who are about to inherit salvation? (English Majority Text
Version)
Are
they not all ministering spirits for service, being sent out because of the ones
being about to inherit salvation? (Literal translation by Sovereign
Grace Publishers)
are
they not all spirits of service--for ministration being sent forth because of
those about to inherit salvation? (Young’s Literal Translation)
Are
they not, all, spirits, doing public service, —for ministry, sent forth, for
the sake of them who are about to inherit salvation? (Rotheram Bible)
The word used in this
passage and translated above as “about to” is “mello’:
G3195
mello
Thayer
Definition:
1)
to be about
1a)
to be on the point of doing or suffering something
1b)
to intend, have in mind, think to
The inheritance had not yet
been received, but was about to occur (indicated by “mello”) at the time of the
writing of the book of Hebrews, circa AD 65-68. Thus, the eternal life of which
John wrote is the immortality of 1 Corinthians 15, and the completion of the
process of the transformation to the glory of Christ, with Christ dwelling in
us. Thus, the resurrection is the bestowal of life that occurred at the Lord’s
coming, circa AD 70.
The Post-Mortem
Resurrection
The last major view of
resurrection held by Preterists is that it occurs when one is dead, and that it
is the rising out of the grave of the dead person’s spirit to the inheritance
of heaven (or hell). This view is found in the Old Testament:
[1]
“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands {guard} over the sons of
your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never
occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your
people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. [2] “Many
of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting
life, but the others to disgrace {and} everlasting contempt. [3]
“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse
of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever
and ever (Daniel 12:1-3, NASB).
Here one learns of a day
when a great distress when there would be a great distress on the people of
Daniel, the Jews. This occurred in the war against
In the New Testament, one
learns of this resurrection in the words of Jesus:
[24]
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent
Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of
death into life. [25] “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now
is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear
will live. [26] “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to
the Son also to have life in Himself; [27] and He gave Him authority to execute
judgment, because He is {the} Son of Man. [28] “Do not marvel at this; for an
hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, [29]
and will come forth; those who did the good {deeds} to a resurrection of
life, those who committed the evil {deeds} to a resurrection of judgment
(John 5:24-29, NASB).
This scene is found in
Revelation as well:
[11]
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence
earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw
the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books
were opened; and another book was opened, which is {the book} of life; and the
dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to
their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and
death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged,
every one {of them} according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15]
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire (Revelation
Here one sees the scene of
the rising from the dead and their judgment. At this point, the defeat of Death
occurred, and Hades, the residence of the dead before this event, was destroyed
(cf. Luke
It should be noted that
many futurists believe in the past fulfillment of the corporate and
regenerative forms of resurrection, on some level or another, while denying
that they are “the resurrection”. For example, members of the churches
of Christ that grew out of the Restoration Movement, a generally a-millennial
partial Preterist group, would hold that the resurrection of regeneration
occurs upon hearing the word, having faith in Christ, and baptism, and that the
restoration of the kingdom occurred on the day of Pentecost, but without
considering this “the resurrection.” Many with post-millennial or
a-millennial leanings would hold that the kingdom has been restored under the
reign of Christ without considering this “resurrection” of
Many of these individuals
would also hold that the “first resurrection” of Revelation 20:4-6 is the
regeneration of those who come to Christ and reign on earth with Him in His
kingdom at this time, while others might hold that the “first resurrection” is
the raising of the saints during the Christian era. It is the general
post-mortem resurrection (the resurrection of both the righteous and the
unrighteous), then, that separates Preterists from even their “closest”
theological “relatives” (partial Preterists, Amillennialists, and
post-millennialists). While many of those in these camps hold that the
fulfillment of the corporate resurrection and the resurrection of regeneration
is in the past, they reject the notion that the post-mortem resurrection is
past (except possibly in the first resurrection).
Resurrection in
Preterist Theology
Many, if not most, who hold
to one view of the resurrection affirm at least one of the other views, while
not holding it to be “the” resurrection. Generally it is believed that
all of these things are aspects of resurrection. For example, while the author
holds that “the resurrection” refers to the post-mortem resurrection,
this is not a denial of the other resurrections.
For example, one might
believe (as does the author) in the corporate resurrection based on the clear
teaching of the following passages:
[17]
“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did
also. [18] “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all
the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. [19]
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; [20] and that
He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, [21] whom heaven must
receive until {the} period of restoration of all things about which God
spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time (Acts 3:17-21, NASB).
This time of restoration is
the consummation of the establishment of the new covenant and the church, the
[13]
After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to
me. [14] “Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from
among the Gentiles a people for His name. [15] “With this the words of the
Prophets agree, just as it is written, [16] ‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return,
AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD
ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, [17] SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE
LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’ [18] SAYS THE LORD, WHO
MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO (Acts 15:13-18, NASB).
Here the word speaks of the
prophecy of the rebuilding and restoration of the fallen tabernacle of David,
which occurred in the first century conversion of the Gentiles to Christ, thus
fulfilling Peter’s condition for the return of Christ.
[20]
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him
who subjected it, in hope [2] that the creation itself also will be set free
from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of
God. [22] For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of
childbirth together until now. [23] And not only this, but also we ourselves,
having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting eagerly for {our} adoption as sons, the redemption of our
body (Romans 8:20-23, NASB).
Here Paul speaks concerning
the collective deliverance and adoption of the body in the future and the end
of the bondage to corruption.
[20]
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ; [21] who will transform the body of our humble state
into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power
that He has even to subject all things to Himself (Philippians 3:20, 21, NASB).
Here Paul again speaks of
the transformation of the body from its lowly state to a glorious state. Thus,
the resurrection of the children of
Elsewhere, as one has seen,
the Bible speaks of the complete transformation of the individual into the
image of Christ:
Therefore
we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner
man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians
My
children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--
but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am
perplexed about you (Galatians 4:19, 20, NASB).
The formation of Christ in
the believer was fulfilled at the parousia of Christ. Thus, believers
were raised at the last day by Christ (John
It is my convictions that,
while these are forms of resurrection, “the resurrection” in places such
as John 5:28, 29 and Acts 24 is a term that refers specifically to the rising
of the physically dead out of their graves in their spiritual bodies. This is
particularly evident in the fact that, as the text in John 5 indicates, this
resurrection applies to the saved and non-believers, the just and the unjust.
This also seen in the words of Paul in the book of Acts:
[14]
“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do
serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with
the Law and that is written in the Prophets; [15] having a hope in God,
which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a
resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. [16] “In view of this, I
also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience {both} before God and
before men. [17] “Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and
to present offerings; [18] in which they found me {occupied} in the temple,
having been purified, without {any} crowd or uproar. But {there were} some Jews
from
The hope shared by both
Paul and his opponents was the resurrection of both the righteous and the
wicked. This certainly cannot be applied to the corporate resurrection, since
at the parousia, the wicked are gathered out of the kingdom, not raised
(Matthew
Likewise, this cannot refer
to the resurrection of regeneration, for this resurrection is available only to
those who have come to Christ, as one can see in John 6. Moreover, this
resurrection is made distinct from the resurrection of regeneration in 1
Corinthians:
Behold,
I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will 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 imperishable, and we will be changed.
For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on
immortality (1 Corinthians
Notice the terminology used
by Paul; he did not say, “we will all be raised,” but to make a distinction
between the resurrection of regeneration for all who are in Christ (we will all
be changed) and the post-mortem resurrection limited to the physically dead
(the dead will be raised), he makes a distinction and uses different
terminology. Thus, the raising of the last day envisioned by Martha is the
personal resurrection out of the grave to one’s inheritance (John
One last point should be
made. In 1 Corinthians 15, only the dead in Christ are mentioned as being
raised imperishable (as the resurrection in which life is bestowed is limited
to the saved: John 5:28, 29). However, this does not limit the post-mortem
resurrection to the saved, as it is clear from the testimony of scripture
elsewhere (cf. Daniel 12:2; Revelation
Conclusion
The Bible speaks of several
aspects of resurrection. These include the corporate resurrection of the nation
of