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WHAT IS PRETERISM?
Preterism, in a general definition, is a point of view or interpretation of PROPHETIC Scripture on the END TIMES of the LAST DAYS as being fulfilled. This does not mean that ALL of these, end of days, prophetic Scriptures have been fulfilled, but rather some to most have been fulfilled depending on what preterist teaching you are reading or listening to on a video or audio teaching.
A preterist is a Christian believer who maintains the point of view of preterism.
Most preterists agree that from Revelation 20:10 to the end of the book of Revelation has NOT YET been FULFILLED, and most all preterists do NOT believe in a LITERAL interpretation of Revelation 20 in the area that the 1000 year reign of Jesus is a LITERAL specific 1000 year reign.
Here is a general summary from a blog written by a preterist saying that he is tired of the preterist point of view being MISREPRESENTED. Any direct quotes from preterist teachers will be in a different font style to avoid confusion. This quote is quite long so you can skim through it for now and then we will cover the errors of preterism following this quote:
In the last few months, there have been several threads that specifically discuss, or briefly touch on partial preterist eschatology. Literally every time one of these discussions arises, I see numerous false assumptions and misunderstandings made about partial preterism. For those interested, I have provided here a brief, chapter-by-chapter explanation of how the partial preterists interpret the Revelation. Understand that this is not the case for all partial preterists, it is simply the generality.
Chapter 1: Jesus appears to John, to give exhortation to the seven churches. The "coming of the Son of Man" is not referring to the Second Coming, but to the "judgment coming" of 70 AD, which John says was targeted against "the tribes of the Land" (the tribes of Israel).
Chapter 2-3: Jesus has John write seven letters to seven churches in Asia (near the island of Patmos where John was). The seven letters draw upon imagery from seven subsequent eras of Biblical history. The theme of each subsequent letter also alludes to a section of the Revelation itself.
Chapter 4: John is taken, in vision, to heaven. He sees the throne of God, the four "living creatures" (the cherubim/seraphim), and the 24 elders (who symbolically represent the whole Church).
Chapter 5: John sees God holding the scroll of the New Covenant. It is sealed with seven seals, which was recognized in first-century Judea as being the "will" of a deceased person. This scroll of the New Covenant is the will of Jesus Christ himself, who ascends to heaven and takes the scroll to open it. (30 AD)
Chapter 6: John sees the first six seals of the scroll broken open. Each seal draws a parallel to the prophecies of Christ in the Olivet Discourse and to the Covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. These seals herald the overarching series of events that take place in the first-century, culminating in the war of Rome upon Judea. (30-70 AD)
Chapter 7: John sees the whole Church (the great multitude), along with the faithful remnant of Israel, symbolically represented as a group of 144,000. The twelve tribes of Israel are named but rearranged for symbolic purposes. Judah is placed at the first of the list because Jesus is the "Lion of Judah". Dan is removed from the list because Genesis 49 calls him a "serpent", who is the enemy of the Church in the Revelation. Dan is replaced by Manasseh, similar to how Judas was replaced by Matthias. They are sealed with the seal of God, to show that they are protected from the destruction during the Jewish-Roman War. (67-70 AD)
Chapter 8: John sees the seventh seal broken open. The New Covenant has been fully established, and God's wrath upon apostate Old Covenant Israel is fully poured out. John's visions start over, to show him the event leading up to the Jewish-Roman War from another perspective, via seven trumpets. The first four trumpets are blown, depicting the destruction that took place in Judea through plagues, famines, false teachings, etc.
Chapter 9: John sees the fifth trumpet blown. The pagan Romans symbolized as locusts, invade Judea. They torment the Christ-rejecting Jews for five months (May-September 66 AD), inciting them to rebel against the Roman Empire. John sees the sixth trumpet blown. Roman armies stationed at the Euphrates River in Syria march on to Judea, straight to Jerusalem (Late 66 AD) where they kill numerous Christ-rejecting Jews.
Chapter 10: John has a vision of an angel. The angel symbolically depicts the uniting of the Jews (the Land) and the Gentiles (the Sea) and declares the "mystery of God" to be almost complete. [Romans 11.25; Ephesians 3.4-6; Colossians 1.27] He gives John a "little scroll" to eat and prophesy, a symbolic representation of John being given the Revelation itself.
Chapter 11: John is told to measure the Temple of God, which is the Body of Christ, the Church. [John 2.19-21; 1 Corinthians 3.16; Ephesians 2.19-22] The "outer court" of the temple and the city of Jerusalem (symbolic representations of apostate Israel) are left to the Gentiles (the Romans) to trample upon for 42 months. (February 67 - August 70 AD) John sees two witnesses (symbolic representations of the entire Church) persecuted by "the beast" (Rome) and "the great city" Jerusalem (apostate Israel). They are depicted as being "conquered" by Rome, but are resurrected and taken to heaven, a depiction of the Church's victory in Christ. "The great city" Jerusalem is destroyed. The seventh trumpet is blown, and the Kingdom of God comes upon the world, and apostate Israel is destroyed, vindicating the righteous dead.
Chapter 12: John's visions start over. A "woman" (natural Israel) gives birth to a "male child" (Christ) despite the opposition of the dragon (Satan). (Circa 4 BC) Christ is taken up to God's throne (symbolically representing his victory upon the cross), and Satan and the fallen angels are exiled from heaven because of the power of Christ's sacrifice (symbolically depicted as a war between the righteous angels, led by Michael, and wicked angels, led by Satan). (30 AD) The dragon attempts to destroy the woman (Satan's attempts to destroy the Jewish apostles when they founded the Church) but fails. (30-35 AD) He goes on to make war upon "the rest of the woman's offspring" (the Church as it grew to include more members, particularly the Gentiles). (35-64 AD)
Chapter 13: Satan gives his power to the Roman Empire and its Emperors (depicted as a sea-beast with seven heads). John gives a prophecy about the Empire's death and subsequent resurrection that took place following Nero's suicide. (68-69 AD) John describes the present persecution of the Christians by the Roman Empire, prophesying that it would last for 42 months. (November 64 - June 68 AD) John sees apostate Israel (depicted as an earth-beast disguised as a lamb) ally itself with the Roman Empire in this persecution. Apostate Israel's false prophets perform false miracles in order to deceive people into rejecting Christ and following Caesar. (30-67 AD) The "mark of the beast" is Hebrew gematria that codifies the name of Nero Caesar into the number 666. The name is not believed to have been codified because John was afraid of persecution (he was already being persecuted), but because of the symbolism behind the number 666. The "mark" is not a literal tattoo but refers to how apostate Israel required its opponents to submit to the Roman Emperors or face persecution. Anyone who took the mark was spared from the wrath of Rome and apostate Israel.
Chapter 14: John sees the 144,000, representing the whole Church, standing upon Mount Zion with Christ, a symbolic depiction that the Church will overcome the persecution of the Roman Empire and apostate Israel. John sees a "soul harvest" upon the earth by Christ, a symbolic representation of Christ's divine protection of his followers during the wrath that God. Another "soul harvest" takes place, this time resulting in God's wrath being poured out upon apostate Israel depicted as a "great winepress of the wrath of God". John sees blood-wine flow out of the winepress, spreading for 1600 stadia. This is the approximate length of the Land of Israel; John is seeing a symbolic representation of God's wrath being poured out upon the entire nation of apostate Israel. (67-70 AD)
Chapter 15: John's visions start over. He sees seven bowls containing seven plagues, ready to be poured out upon apostate Israel.
Chapter 16: The seven plagues (summarizing the events of the Jewish-Roman War: 67-70 AD) are poured out, intentionally alluding to the ten plagues of Egypt. [Deuteronomy 28.27,60] Satan, the Roman Empire, and apostate Israel incite each other into war at "Armageddon". The word literally means "Mountain of Megiddo". This location does not literally exist but is a symbolic representation of the Church's salvation (the symbol of the "mountain") being founded upon the destruction of God's enemies (symbolized by Megiddo, which has a history of God's enemies being destroyed there). [Luke 21.20,28,31] Jerusalem "the great city" is "split into three parts", corresponding to the three factions of Zealots that took over the city in 67 AD, ultimately being the reason why the city was conquered by the Romans in 70 AD.
Chapter 17: John's visions start over. He sees the harlot "Babylon the great", which he is explicitly told is a symbolic representation of "the great city" Jerusalem. The harlot is "drunk with the blood of the saints", showing Jerusalem's guilt of persecuting the Church. The harlot is allied with the scarlet beast, showing apostate Israel's alliance with the Roman Empire. John is told that the seven heads represent seven kings; these are the first seven emperors of the Roman Empire, beginning with Julius Caesar. This results in the sixth king being Nero Caesar, who was singled out by John's prophecies in Revelation 13. The scarlet beast itself is the "eighth" king. The number 8 is the symbolic numeral of resurrection; hence the beast (the Roman Empire) is prophesied to die and resurrect, corresponding directly to the "mortal wound" that the beast receives and heals from in Revelation 13. (68-69 AD) The Roman Empire is described as attempting to destroy the Church, but failing (symbolically depicted as the beast warring upon the Lamb). (64-68 AD) In anger at failing to destroy the Church, the Roman Empire turns vengeance upon apostate Israel, the harlot, and destroys her. (67-70 AD)
Chapter 18: John records a lament by the world over Jerusalem's death. He ends the lament with the statement that "in her was found the blood of ... all who have been slain on the earth", directly linking to Christ's statement that Jerusalem held the guilt for "all the righteous blood shed on earth".
Chapter 19: The John sees the Marriage Supper of the Lamb begin as a direct result of the death of apostate Israel. In essence, Israel, God's wife [Ezekiel 16.32] had committed apostasy, which was the same thing as "sexual immorality" [Ezekiel 16]. According to Christ, divorce could be issued on account of "sexual immorality". [Matthew 5.31-32] Hence, God divorced his adulterous wife Israel by having her destroyed with fire, which was the Old Covenant death sentence for women who were "sexually immoral" (if they were related to priests, which Israel was). [Leviticus 21.9] God divorced apostate Israel in order to marry true Israel, which is the Church. The overarching theme of Revelation 16-19 perfectly fits Christ's parable of the wedding feast [Matthew 22.1-15], right down to the burning of "their city" being immediately followed by the wedding feast. The second half of the book symbolically represents the victory of Christ's victory over the world, including the Roman Empire and apostate Israel, where the two are cast into the lake of fire.
Chapter 20: John sees Satan bound up so that he could not deceive the nations, a symbolic representation of the power of Christ's sacrifice over Satan's deception. The "first resurrection" refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ "the firstfruits". [1 Corinthians 15.20] Hence, the righteous dead (Rev. 14.13: "Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on") are described as "sharing" in Christ's resurrection and rule, in perfect correspondence to Paul's statements in his letters. [1 Corinthians 15.22; Ephesians 2.6; Colossians 2.12-13] The "thousand years" are symbolic of the era of the Church, and the beginning of the "thousand years" corresponds to the Kingdom of God as being established upon the world [Luke 21.31-32; Revelation 11.15], marked by the destruction of apostate Israel. [Matthew 21.33-46] The number 1000 is a symbolic numeral for "completion". Thus, when the "thousand years" come to their end, the plan of God will be brought to completion. Satan will be released from his binding, bringing about a great deception. The enemies of the world (symbolized as "Gog and Magog") will attempt to destroy the Church (symbolized as "God's holy city"), but they will be prevented by the Second Coming of Christ. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Christ will sit upon his throne, and he will bring about the resurrection of the dead. All of mankind (and angels) will be judged. John sees the wicked cast into the lake of fire. Finally, John sees Death itself destroyed by Christ. After the resurrection, the final judgment, and the defeat of Death, Christ delivers the Kingdom of God up to the Father in order for it to be consummated. [1 Corinthians 15.23-28,54-55]
Chapter 21: John sees the New Jerusalem, a symbolic representation of God's perfect Church with imagery drawn from Ezekiel's description of Eden. [Ezekiel 28.13] Whereas the priestly garments of the Old Covenant had 12 different stones, each with a name of one of the 12 tribes engraved upon it [Exodus 28.17-21], John sees the New Jerusalem built on a foundation of 12 different stones, each with a name of one of the 12 apostles engraved upon it. Since the New Jerusalem is the Church, it has no temple within it, because the Church is the temple of God, and God resides within the New Jerusalem. John sees that the wicked are not allowed into the New Jerusalem, corresponding to the fact that only those who believe in Christ and repent of their sins become members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
Chapter 22: John sees the river of life (Jesus' salvation) flowing from the throne of God and of Jesus. He also sees the tree of life (eternal life) bearing fruit each month, corresponding to the Church's growing numbers over time. He states that the tree's leaves are "for the healing of the nations", corresponding to how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings healing to mankind. John states that only the "those who wash their robes" [in the blood of Jesus: Revelation 7.14] may enter the New Jerusalem, corresponding to the fact that only those who believe in Christ and repent of their sins become members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ. The New Jerusalem, as depicted in Revelation 21-22, is a present reality for the Church [Galatians 4.22-31; Hebrews 12.22], made real by the sacrifice of Christ, but it also awaits perfect fulfillment at the Second Coming of Christ.
Additional Notes:
I cannot repeat it enough times: Partial preterists do not believe that the Second Coming took place in 70 AD. God had several, unique "judgment comings" throughout the Old Testament, in which God "came" and destroyed a wicked nation by using another nation as his tool of judgment. Likewise, the "coming of the Son of Man" is interpreted by partial preterists as referring to Christ's "judgment coming" in 70 AD, in which he "came" and destroyed apostate Israel by using the Roman nation as his tool of judgment. Partial preterists do believe that the Second Coming is still in our future, in which Christ will physically return to the earth.
Partial preterism does not teach "replacement theology", it teaches "covenant theology".
"Replacement theology" is the teaching that ethnic Israel was replaced by the Church.
"Covenant theology" is the teaching that the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant. The Church is considered to be the same thing as Israel. The Church/Israel consists of Christ-believing ethnic Israelites and goes on to "graft on" Christ-believing ethnic Gentiles. Similarly, the Church/Israel "breaks off" Christ-rejecting ethnic Israelites, and excludes Christ-rejecting ethnic Gentiles.
And for the love of God, if you have something to say in response to this thread, do not quote the entire OP.
So now you have a GENERAL idea of what preterism is straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. One thing that I want you to notice is that many to almost all preterists believe and teach that the greatest part of the entire book of Revelation has already been fulfilled by 70 AD.
The next point that I want you to see is their interpretation of the 1000 year reign of Jesus NOT being a LITERAL 1000 year reign. Here again, is a quote on Revelation chapter 20 stating their point of view.
“Chapter 20: John sees Satan bound up so that he could not deceive the nations, a symbolic representation of the power of Christ's sacrifice over Satan's deception. The "first resurrection" refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ "the firstfruits". [1 Corinthians 15.20] Hence, the righteous dead (Rev. 14.13: "Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on") are described as "sharing" in Christ's resurrection and rule, in perfect correspondence to Paul's statements in his letters. [1 Corinthians 15.22; Ephesians 2.6; Colossians 2.12-13] The "thousand years" are symbolic of the era of the Church, and the beginning of the "thousand years" corresponds to the Kingdom of God as being established upon the world [Luke 21.31-32; Revelation 11.15], marked by the destruction of apostate Israel. [Matthew 21.33-46] The number 1000 is a symbolic numeral for "completion". Thus, when the "thousand years" come to their end, the plan of God will be brought to completion. Satan will be released from his binding, bringing about a great deception. The enemies of the world (symbolized as "Gog and Magog") will attempt to destroy the Church (symbolized as "God's holy city"), but they will be prevented by the Second Coming of Christ. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Christ will sit upon his throne, and he will bring about the resurrection of the dead. All of mankind (and angels) will be judged. John sees the wicked cast into the lake of fire. Finally, John sees Death itself destroyed by Christ. After the resurrection, the final judgment, and the defeat of Death, Christ delivers the Kingdom of God up to the Father in order for it to be consummated. [1 Corinthians 15.23-28,54-55]”
At the time of the writing of this study, I was corresponding back and forth with a brother in the Lord who had this same belief about the 1000 year reign of Jesus NOT being a LITERAL 1000 year reign. Here is what he wrote to me and what I wrote back explaining the errors in his interpretation of some of the verses he quoted for supporting his belief. HIS belief is in BLUE type and my comments are in black type.
Hi Brother,
I am going to copy and paste your email to me in blue font and give what I believe line by line. Also, I use a lot of emphases when I write. So please understand that I am NOT yelling or arguing with you. I am merely pointing out what I myself believe to be sound Biblical teaching based upon the whole word of God.
Let me first say that I don't use “labels” to define things.
I do not place labels on MYSELF, but I do use the labels that others place on themselves. It is easier for me to say one word rather than giving the long definition every time I want to refer to that particular belief.
From my understanding, a preterist is someone who believes that end-time events were all fulfilled by AD 70 at the destruction of the temple. I do not believe this to be true in any way.
I am pleased to hear that you are not a preterist that believes all of Matthew 24 was fulfilled in 70 AD.
The book of Revelation, as is true of most of the prophetic books are filled with “figurative” language, and figurative language is as different from literal language as English is from Chinese. The figures of speech must be interpreted either from known examples in the Bible or by context.
I totally agree.
To start, the word used for “thousand” is an indefinite plural (Strong's 5507). So why did the translators choose a singular ???? I am not sure.
I understand about there being errors in translation, but I do not believe that this is one of them. I will share why further on.
Second, I read from known passages of scripture (literal language, not figurative) that when the LORD returns for His elect, at the end of the age, we will be “forever” with the Lord (1Thes 4 15-18) Those who are in Christ, either asleep or in the body, will never again need to battle sin, for according to 1Cor 15:35-50 we will be raised with our incorruptible bodies. The world, flesh, and devil will no longer have power over us. We will be in the presence of Christ, and EVER be with Him.
Again I totally agree. When Jesus returns and we receive our immortal bodies as Jesus has now, then we are “home free” so to speak and the second death has absolutely no power whatsoever over us after the second coming of Jesus IF SO BE we are found to be that good and faithful servant when he comes again or when we die whichever comes first. It is ONLY those of us who are IN Jesus Christ when we die or when Jesus returns who will take part in the FIRST resurrection.
All the unsaved will be in the lake of fire, along with Satan, and only those who are in Christ, old and new testament saints will be with the LORD. Since this is true,
Here I believe is where the problem is. You are ASSUMING the above statement to be TRUE and it is NOT what the whole word of God teaches WHEN you COMBINE it with your next statement below. Let us go ahead and read your next statement and I will show you that there is absolutely no conflict or contradiction to any other part of God's word to interpret the 1000 year reign of Jesus as a LITERAL 1000 years reign.
When I read Rev 20 and try to understand it from a literal interpretation, I see a major conflict that I can not resolve......Do you see my logic...A literal interpretation simply goes against so many clear passages of scripture. And the greatest is Satan deceiving us AFTER we are with the LORD...That is impossible!!!!!
I would see your logic IF it was a TRUE statement that WE, the faithful Christians, AFTER our change were to be still yet TEMPTED by Satan DURING the 1000 year reign. OR that we could somehow LOSE our eternal life and be cast into the lake of fire AFTER we receive eternal life at the second coming of Jesus.
It is true that the unsaved will be cast into the lake of fire AFTER the SECOND resurrection at the END of the thousand-year reign of Jesus. Bear with me for a moment and TRY to see the 1000 years as being LITERAL.
In Isaiah we read of a yet coming age where the Lord will reign and every weapon of war will be beaten into plows and farming tools and mankind will NOT learn war any more. The lifespan of man will be 100 years of age and everyone will live out their full life with no sickness or premature death. In other words, there will be people still IN their MORTAL bodies during this 1000 year reign of Jesus and WE who will then have IMMORTAL bodies will rule and reign with Jesus over those people in their MORTAL bodies, TEACHING them about the ways of our Lord.
Satan will be bound during these 1000 years, so there will be no temptation by the devil, no oppressing people with sickness and disease by the devil. People in their MORTAL bodies will build houses and live in peace not worrying that someone will steal their home from them and so forth.
This is all in the book of Isaiah and NONE of this has ever happened in history so to ME it is IMPOSSIBLE for their NOT to be a LITERAL 1000 year reign of Jesus for all this to be able to be fulfilled. Do you see MY logic? I mean with what you are saying it would NOT be IMMORTALITY if we all died at 100 years of age.
You see there will be THREE groups of people during the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Those IN Jesus Christ who will have received their IMMORTAL bodies, the JEWS who repent and call upon Jesus when they see him coming to their rescue at the end of the war at Armageddon when the Muslim armies are seeking to destroy Jerusalem and kill every Jew and every Christian. And the third group of people will be those LEFT alive of the nations who call upon the name of the Lord.
So a remnant of Jews and a remnant of those that will be left of the nations will be saved ALIVE to go into this 1000 year reign in their MORTAL bodies to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah. And WE who have received eternal life at the second coming of Jesus will rule and reign with Jesus over those in their MORTAL bodies. Satan will be bound DURING these 1000 years. Satan is DEFINITELY NOT bound now so to ME it is IMPOSSIBLE that NOW is a FIGURATIVE long period of unspecified time being spoken of in Revelation 20.
Then AFTER this 1000 year reign, Satan will be loose to tempt the NATIONS and NOT tempt US who have already been given immortality at the BEGINNING of this 1000 year reign of Jesus, but rather ONLY those of the NATIONS in their mortal bodies will be tempted to rebel and fight AGAINST God's people. This can be interpreted as being ONLY the NON-Jewish NATION fighting against the JEWS only or it can be interpreted as SOME of the nation fighting against JESUS and the GLORIFIED SAINTS who cannot be killed.
Then God pours out the REMAINING of his WRATH and the wicked are AGAIN slain and all RIGHTEOUS people who were saved DURING this 1000 year will receive eternal life. In other words, there are TWO wars against God and his people. One at the BEGINNING or right before the 1000 year reign of Jesus when Jesus comes again to fight against those Muslim nations that are seeking to kill all Christians and all Jews. The focus of this war will be in and around Israel and most Bible prophecy teachers call this the battle of Armageddon.
Notice that at this time there is said to be SILENCE in heaven for HALF an hour. Not a LITERAL half an hour, but symbolizing that the WRATH of God is DIVIDED into TWO parts. The first half at the SECOND coming of Jesus, BEFORE his 1000 year reign and the last half at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
So we have TWO wars, TWO resurrections, TWO judgments that are SEPARATED by a LITERAL 1000 year reign of Jesus, where those who are IN Jesus Christ when they die or at the time of his coming will take part in the FIRST resurrection and the FIRST judgment that is ONLY for those IN Jesus Christ.
And all this takes place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation where Jesus warns those who are in Judea to flee from that area and for no one in the surrounding countries to enter that area of the world. The term mountains can be interpreted as being BOTH literal and figurative. Either way or both ways work and does not contradict any other part of God's word. Mountain in Bible prophecy is sometimes symbolic of a kingdom so it could be interpreted flee to other countries when you see Jerusalem SURROUNDED by ARMIES, the abomination that will make Jerusalem DESOLATE toward the end of the war called Armageddon.
Example: Ephesians 1 states the saints are “in Christ” and seated in heavenly places “in Him”
This is speaking of right NOW being given all power in the NAME of Jesus over the principalities and powers, demonic Satanic powers in the heavenly speaking of the atmosphere of the earth and NOT Gods' throne in heaven.
1 Peter 2: 5-9 states we are a royal priesthood
Rev. 1:1-6 states we have been made kings and priests unto God
This is speaking of AFTER we are glorified when we rule and reign with Jesus as I have already explained above.
Rev. 1:5 states “And Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the FIRST begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him, that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and HATH made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.”
Yes, and the Bible ALSO says that we HAVE been GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE, but this does NOT mean that we actually possess eternal life NOW in this present world. Jesus says we are given things NOW in this present world and we will be given eternal life IN the world yet to come, which IS the 1000 year reign of Jesus and every age to come after that age of 1000 years.
Christ is the 1st resurrection (first begotten from the dead), and everyone who is born again is “in Christ” and has a part in the first resurrection. Those who are “in Christ”, the second death has no power......
I agree that the second death has no power over us AFTER we have ENDURED UNTO THE END and we are found to be a good and faithful servant who is NOT working INIQUITY when we die or when Jesus returns and our change takes place in a BLINK of an eye with absolutely NO time to repent.
This is what Revelation means when it says behold I come QUICKLY. This does NOT mean that Jesus is coming SOON, as in, in any moment, but rather that the coming of Jesus will be like a FLASH of lightening, QUICK, and our change will take place in a MOMENT in a TWINKLING of an eye and there will be NO time to repent.
This is why Jesus WARNS us to be ready and he says right before he comes LET it BE or so be it. Let those who are righteous remain righteous and those who are working iniquity remain wicked. The time has come even so come Lord Jesus.
Now after we are caught up and safe with Jesus I could not say how LONG that WRATH of God will last. It could be 30 days, or 75 days or just one day. We would only be guessing or speculating.
And it is because of these Known-understandable-literal passages, I recognize that Rev. 20 is not a literal passage, and I MUST interpret it from the literal scriptures that establish truth, or else I will be into false doctrine......and hence I see it as a figurative representative picture of the Christian era, and as we approach the SOON return of the LORD, I see the church (not all) in an apostasy that has not been known before (Satan loosed for a little season).
First I want to say that I am glad that you are seeing that things are getting WORSE rather than better. Some falsely teach that we are in the “millennium” NOW starting from 70 AD to now with no definite limited 1000 year exact period of time, but they teach that WE will teach the world and EVENTUALLY the world will become a paradise and then Jesus will come again AFTER this unspecified period of time.
But Jesus said shall I find FAITH on the earth WHEN I COME??? And the Bible also says that things will grow worse and be like Sodom and Gomorrah when he comes. So to ME, their theology makes NO sense whatsoever.
It sounds as if you also believe that the second coming of Jesus is at the END of the 1000 years. And that Jesus and WE are ruling and reigning NOW.
Now, while it is TRUE that we SHOULD BE ruling and reigning over Satan to be living without sin, some Christians are not because they have not been TAUGHT the whole word of God. You are correct about Ephesians, IN THAT, we have been made to sit in the heavenly place in Jesus Christ, but again this is speaking of the SPIRITUAL power and AUTHORITY that we have been GIVEN in the NAME of Jesus to use to DEFEAT and OVERCOME the enemy.
The problem is not all Christians KNOW their authority and therefore let Satan trample all over them. The Bible teaches us that sin shall NOT have dominion OVER us, but some Christian churches preach nothing but we are just poor ole sinners barely hanging on. So no wonder why some Christians still sin every day THINKING that this is the way things HAVE to be. They are crying on the inside, hating sin, but then told you are only human and as long as you live in your mortal body you are going to sin.
NO! Thousands of times NO! That is NOT what the word of God teaches us.
There has never been a time, at least in this country, where Christianity has been maligned and mocked as it is right now (And (Satan) shall go out and deceive the nations)......And the Church that should be representing TRUTH is becoming marginalized because of its refusal to teach and practice “The faith, as handed down from Christ and the apostles”...
I agree. The church as a whole is being fed a watered-down gospel. BUT there is a remnant who are seeking God in these last days searching for the truth so that we will be found to be a good and faithful servant when Jesus returns.
Take for example 1 simple injunction from 1Cor 11:1-16...How many women do you know who obey this ordinance? This was universally obeyed in the Church, there are reproductions of women from the 4th century through the 18th and 19th century who covered their heads when praying or reading the word, but you don't see this kept anymore by the majority of those in Christendom. And this began about 1950 and onward.
I agree with what you say that many in the church followed this custom all through church history, but this does not mean that ALL believers kept this custom. When Paul addressed this issue he said WE the church have NO SUCH CUSTOM so judge it yourselves, do what you feel you should do. Paul gave the reason for women covering their heads as being the fallen angels and in the context, he also says that the Christian husband is now the covering for the women implying that we as Christians no longer need to keep this custom. Please read the studies under the heading >>>CAN WOMEN BE PASTORS?<<<
But I do agree with you on the area of the church NOT being like the early church doing the WORKS of Jesus, healing the sick and casting out devils and even raising the dead.
Has the word changed? Has GOD changed His mind? No...men have “decided” what parts of the bible were important, and what parts were not...SO man has become a judge over the eternal words of Almighty GOD, and we are seeing a deception, falling away, the apostasy of immense proportion. The church has become, to a great extent, a social event, and the Church Militant, we don't see that anymore. Read Martyrs Mirror and see how the Church once stood against evil...Abortion, prayer and the bible taken out of the schools, All these evils should have been fought by the Church as the evils they are, but the 501-C 3 has silenced the Body of Christ from being the salt and light the Church was intended it to be. These events have happened in my lifetime, and the pace of decay is rapidly quickening.
I agree. For some, the church has become an obligation rather than a joy. And only a few truly love God's word to be that good Berean and search the word daily to make sure that what they are being taught is the TRUTH.
Brother, I am not trying to divide the flock, nor am I believing “every wind of doctrine”...I am doing my best to be a Berean, and rightly divide the word of truth, and follow it to the best of my ability, which I am sure you are doing as well......It saddens me as I discuss the Bible with professing Christians, and see that “glazed over” look that comes over their faces...I love the WORD and recognize it is CHRIST- The Word Of GOD- and I don't argue over CHRIST, Nor do I take it lightly...I have far too much fear of the LORD to do that.....
I feel the same.
So I won't argue, I am seeking truth...If I am mistaken just show me...I am able to receive correction...I simply want to encourage those who are in Christ to fight the good fight...Walk in the light...overcome evil in word and deed.......Pray for the saints...Do the work of an evangelist...and know that... “HE who endures unto the end, the same shall be saved”
I feel the same. I have a heart for the flock and I do not want them to be deceived. I do not want YOU to be deceived. I know you said that you do not follow Mr. Ellis H. Skolfield, but it does worry me that you gave me a link to his website. This tells me that you AGREE with what he teaches. Perhaps you do not, and that would be good. I pray that it is so. What I am trying to say is that if there is SOMETHING that someone is teaching that you find interesting and it seems Biblical and you want to share that PART with someone, then make it CLEAR that you cannot say that you agree with EVERYTHING this person teaches but I do find this ONE THING worthwhile to consider.
You have to understand that I receive all kinds of “ATTACKS” from well-meaning Christians, who SINCERELY believe that they have the TRUTH and that I am a HERETIC just because I have taken a STAND for the TRUTH to expose the errors of some of the teaching of the mainstream churches.
Like you, I will not argue, but I WILL state the FACTS, the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE word of God that needs absolutely NO interpretation to know what it means.
I pray that you consider what I have shared with you. Again to ME the only way that I can reconcile the time of PEACE prophesied in Isaiah is DURING a LITERAL 1000 year reign of Jesus.”
So now you have a relatively good understanding of what “PRETERISM” teaches, and you know that I myself believe preterism is FALSE teaching as a whole deceiving Christians that there is NO time of great tribulation ahead. But some of you may not be sure WHY I say that preterism is a FALSE teaching.
To answer your question of WHY preterism is FALSE teaching please read the follow-up study called “WHY PRETERISM IS A FALSE TEACHING!”
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well.
Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to:
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Also, here is the MASTER Menu List of my 8 NEW BOOKS with LINKS to all of the chapters in those eight new books.
Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!
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