Our
Blessed Hope
My
Defense of Orthodox Eschatology
by
Bill Grimes, Co-Editor
| Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Savior 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
Introduction
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
Foundation
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
Irreducible Minimum
The
defense against Heretical Preterism may be summarized in the following four
passages:
1.
Jesus will literally return.
Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11
AV)
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 Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11 AV)
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.
(John
14:1-3 AV)
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:
(First
Thessalonians 4:16 AV)
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.
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)
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.
(John
6:39-40 AV)
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.
It
is a resurrection of the body patterned after the resurrection of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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.
(Matthew
28:9 AV)
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?
O grave, where [is] thy victory?
(First
Corinthians 15:55,
Cf.
Hosea 13:14)
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 Jerusalem.
It is hard to believe that those saints who lived through Jerusalem’s
destruction overlooked the blessed hope of the ages.
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 Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
(Luke 21:23-24 AV)
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
Jerusalem; according to which all this must have taken place long ago. It is,
indeed, sufficiently obvious that the tribulation of those days began with the
destruction, or rather with the besieging, of Jerusalem. But when did it end?
As soon as the city was destroyed? Nay. If we wish to get some idea of the
duration of those days of tribulation, let us turn to the same place in the
same prophecy given by St. Luke (Luke
21.23 , 24),
where it clearly appears that it embraces the whole period of the Jewish
dispersion and of the standing of the Gentile Church. "The
tribulation of those days" is going on still, and therefore the events of
these verses are still future. We look forward to the Day of the Lord
of which that terrible day of judgment, to which their thoughts were first
turned, was only a dim foreshadowing—a Day far more august in its nature,
for more awful in its accompaniments, for more terrible in its aspect to those
who are unprepared for it, yet full of glory and of joy to those who
"love His appearing." -Gibson (emphasis mine)
Gentiles
continue to tread upon Jerusalem to this day.
I believe that the destruction which befell Jerusalem in 70AD was but a
foreshadowing of The Last Day. A.S.
Worrell echoes this thought in his note on Matthew’s account of the Olivet
Discourse.
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.
- The
Worrell New Testament, page 42.
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”, genea
(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”,
genea
(1074) auth
(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 Jerusalem altogether.
I say this because of the case of the Greek word translated “all”.
When the disciples saw “all,
panta
(3956) these things” in verses 4-28, taken together, then they would know
that the time was near. (This is
why I believe that the parable of the fig tree in Matthew 24:32-35 refers to
the events described in verses 4-28.) Such was the point of this passage.
(When the sign of the Son of man appears in verse 30, He’s not near;
He’s here!)
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.
(First
Corinthians 15:51-52 AV)
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.
(Isaiah
53:1-6 AV)
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
Thessalonians 4?
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 mellien
(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 mellien
(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 mellien
(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 mellien
(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 mellien
(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.
(Acts 3:3 AV)
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.
(Acts
24:15 NASB)
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.
3.
He
will judge the world, the living and the dead.
…….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.
(John
12:48 AV)
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 Jerusalem in 70AD is Christ’s
promised coming in judgment upon
apostate Israel. The Lord has
“come” many times in judgment on various nations. (See Isaiah 13, 19; Ezekiel 32; and Joel as examples.) This
judgment was a temporal judgment for Israel alone.
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 Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD.
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 Israel was
just for first century Israel. Israel,too, will be judged again on the Last
Day. (See Matthew 12:41.)
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.
Summary
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 Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11 AV)
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.
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)
Brothers
and sisters let the following verse be your application of all that I have
written here. In the name of God the Father, God, the Son, and God, the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was
needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend
for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3 AV)
Bibliography:
On
Line Bible Version. 7.06
Nave,
Orville J. (ed.), Nave’s Topical
Bible, Chicago, IL: Moody
Press, 1972.
Seraiah,
C. Jonathin, The End of All Things,
Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1999.
Other
Suggested Reading:
Fee,
Gordon D., New Testament Exegesis,
Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1983.
Jensen,
Irving L., Independent Bible Study,
Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1963.
Sproul,
R.C., Knowing Scripture, Downers Grove, IL: Inter
Varsity Press, 1977.
Our
Web Site:
www.thingstocome.org
(Links
to articles quoted can be found here.)