Let's have a look at Breitbart.com's story about the duly-elected President BHO and his antics to cover up his origins which would disqualify him from holding the office he tenuously holds now.
Can you say "double-crossed?"
I visited Infowars.com on a whim and, presto, there it was in all its digital glory:
Now it has been "immortalized" for all to see forever.
If that is not enough, here is yet even more in-depth coverage of the unfolding refuge of lies (Isaiah 28:17) hiding the "most powerful man in the world."
Ready to have your paradigm shifted... again? How about just shaken a bit? Here you go.
The Doctrine of Hell/Eternal Punishment
I recently discussed a refutation of eternal punishment with a friend. I am holding on to the "eternal" part until I know it is safe to let go of it! Fear of God, you know.
I also happened to find a podcast on Hairy Ticks about hell and our misunderstanding of it.
Oh, oh.
Later, I found the Hairy Ticks Variety Showdiscussing it with John Noe. HTVS is a conversational-format talk show from a preterist perspective. Here I heard a credible explanation of the Biblical doctrine of hell/gehenna/hades/lake of fire/tartaros which contradicts the traditional view-- which I am tenuously holding on to!
How I found this podcast escapes me, but here is where it all began for me: AD70.net. And here.
In the second linked article above, I found the last two paragraphs to be comforting and reassuring that the author was conscientiously avoiding heresy. Whew!
Thank you for humoring me in my indulgence of all things Biblical. I have been on an Answers In Genesis"kick" for the past few days, as evidenced by my recent blog posts. This has been my intentional excursion into Creation Sciencefor many reasons.
"Have you not read...?" (Matthew 19:4) This was Jesus' oft-asked question to those who presumed to know God better than He did!
It is time once again to return to my appreciation for blogging. Indeed, it is a universal need of us clay vessels to express ourselves. It doesn't pay the bills. But then, neither does sleeping!
That's what blogs are for, venting emotions on subjects we care about because we are verbal creatures - even if it accomplishes NOTHING.
That's all for now. I must get busy trying to figure out how to pay my bills. "Working" is only a concept if I don't do it!
Okay. I changed the title to "1963" intentionally. A good conspiracy theoricist has to have some fun!
However, this blog will never become a Conspiracy Theory clearing house. I will address certain stories that I feel very strongly about. This is one of them.
Occasionally, I find information from people who have the time and resources to pursue these things and publish their findings.
You must admit, however, conspiracy theories make life more interesting. Imagine how painfully boring life would be without a good CTto explain the really big, inexplicable events in life and history.
JFK
Well, let us take heart as Vincent Bugliositakes multiple swipes at us "conspiracy theorists" in his interview with Dennis Prageron The Dennis Prager Show. It was condensed and replayed on Townhall.com's podcast "Weekend Journal" today. I guess serendipitously finding and listening to this podcast has unintentionally stirred my pot.
After listening to the interview, I was left feeling like the "loser" whose life was coming apart that like Mr. Bugliosi said I was! Amazing.
Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy all by himself. Any questions?
Just one. Or two.
Agnosticism
I found out my buddy Vincent is an "agnostic" in his belief about God. This hits credibility where it counts the most!See Amazon.comfor his book, "Divinity of Doubt: The God Question."
Here is the book description:
"Vincent Bugliosi, whom many view as the nation’s foremost prosecutor, has successfully taken on, in court or on the pages of his books, the most notorious murderers of the last half century—Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, and Lee Harvey Oswald.
Now, in the most controversial book of his celebrated career, he turns his incomparable prosecutorial eye on the greatest target of all: God. In making his case for agnosticism, Bugliosi has very arguably written the most powerful indictment ever of God, organized religion, theism, and atheism. Theists will be left reeling by the commanding nature of Bugliosi’s extraordinary arguments against them. And, with his trademark incisive logic and devastating wit, he exposes the intellectual poverty of atheism and skewers its leading popularizers—Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins.
Joining a 2,000-year-old conversation which no one has contributed anything significant to for years, Bugliosi, in addition to destroying the all-important Christian argument of intelligent design, remarkably—yes, scarily—shakes the very foundations of Christianity by establishing that Jesus was not born of a virgin, and hence was not the son of God, that scripture in reality supports the notion of no free will, and that the immortality of the soul was a pure invention of Plato that Judaism and Christianity were forced to embrace because without it there is no life after death.
Destined to be an all-time classic, Bugliosi’s Divinity of Doubt sets a new course amid the explosion of bestselling books on atheism and theism—the middle path of agnosticism. In recognizing the limits of what we know, Bugliosi demonstrates thatagnosticism is the most intelligent and responsible position to take on the eternal question of God’s existence." [Emphasis mine]
Barf!
Conspiracy Theory!!!
I also found out that Vincent (we are on a first-name basis now, for variety's sake) has another book out, which would by no means appear to be conspiratorial in any way. Perish the thought. Here it is:
Now we see that Mr. Bugliosi (see previous paragraph) has a notion that "conspiracy theorists" are losers whose lives are coming apart and need something to believe in to explain their loss of control.
Gee, it seems like he just wants to sell his book, "Reclaiming History," which was the subject of his interview mentioned above, and reclaim history from CT-types who distort the truth, etc.
Blah, blah, blah. All together now: "Cha-ching!"
Final thought: 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
Well, intrepid readers of my blog, I watched the video posted yesterday about Sheriff Joe Arpaio's news conference revealing the findings by his Cold Case Posse investigating a possible case of fraud and forgery raised by the Surprise (AZ) Tea Party's petition to Sheriff Joe.
"Riveting" comes to mind.
I saw in that video where Chief Investigator Mike Zullo tells the media present he is gravely concerned over the evidence of fraud and forgery by a private (?) individual who created "an electronic file" to mimic a paper document which would pass for a long-form birth certificate proving President Barack Hussein Obama's eligibility to run for the office of president of the United States of America.
Zullo finally mentions a video wherein a postal worker reveals his conversation with the parents of Bill Ayers (of domestic terrorist fame in the 1970's, I believe). Thomas Ayers introduced the postman to a young "foreign student" named, you guessed it, BHO!
It seems to me that a foreign student is not born in the country in which he or she is being educated. That would point to a citizenship originating somewhere else. So much for being qualified to run for president.
With blogging apologies to Glen Campbell for revising his song title, "Gentle On My Mind," North Korea has a new Dear Leader (same as the old Dear Leader) who has finally gotten the spotlight shone on his cherubic countenance and a new agenda of lies and human brutality laying before him.
If it were not so tragically barbaric, the upstart regime of Kim Jong Un would be comical.
The audacious parade of deception for all the world and even its own people to see unwillingly has begun-- or should I say, continues. It will go down (and it will go down, God willing) in history as the last Stalinist regime to fall, and the world's largest prison camp that would make even the Man of Steel, Josef Stalin, smile in his fireside resting place (wishful thinking).
Why blog about North Korea now? Because I am happy-- albeit temporarily-- with the latest development in the government's failed rocket launch. We Westerners breathe a collective sigh of relief every time a world dictator falls on his (never her) face, militarily. See the story on Fox News.
Whew! Pleasekeep screwing up your space program, Commander Kim!
Stop causing so much incomprehensible human misery that only God can stop. And trust me, He will stop it. That is the hope and prayer of every human being with a pulse.
Let us work for a Domino Principle that will cause a wave of good rather than evil to spread.
One nice thing about having a blog like this is I can post about anything and it will fall under the category of Faith or Life. Be it my faith (which is a gift of God, Ephesians 2:8-9), my computer, or my opinion of political events and developments (especially in the United States), and so on.
See? Life can be "cut and dried," and fit inside of nice, neat little cubby holes.
Until it can't.
Praise God for the order out of chaos (Genesis 1:1-2)
Sorry, dear readers of my worldview-oriented blog (hence the name). I got side-tracked in my last post toward occupational/vocational pursuits in search of relevant and interesting content for your exclusive perusal.
I digressed!
Witness the link to one LightShine Mediaand its attendant audio file which I am listening to momentarily for your re-alignment with the blog before you now.
Ah, technology.
For more on my digression into web-related topics, see my other blog at Web Developments.
Well, the time has come for me to return to my blogging roots here at Blogger.com. Right now, I am savoring the moment I am in, which feels like a homecoming. Let me explain, if I can.
I recently authored a website called HTML5 OR BUST! I have been nurturing it to maturity since its inception and launch last October. I have enjoyed the time spent racking my brain trying to solve baffling problems with coding.
I am a novice at HTML and CSS. But I intend to learn all I can about web design and development.
I am thinking of a title for this post.
It's funny, but I actually feel that people are reading my blog!
I am in no way discounting my respect and admiration for the Reverend Billy Graham's capable and well-qualified evangelist son, Franklin. But I am taking issue with his comments in his video called"Second Coming - Are You Ready?"
In it, he states that Jesus did not come as King the first time, but He will the second time.
Really?
Matthew 2:2says the wise men asked Herod, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upondhis shoulder, and his name shall be callede Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
Graham says that Jesusdid not have a government then. Really? Can there be a king without a kingdom? Jesus Himself said, "My kingdom is not of this world."(John 18:36) He was speaking in the present tense. In fact, the wise men were speaking in the past-perfect tense!
Also, of course, Graham toes the line that Jesus is coming "soon." There you have the complete package of futurism in a nutshell. I was surprised, but not shocked. I only count myself blessed (?) with this perspective of fulfilled, covenant eschatology.
NOTE: I am not discounting or disparaging the God-given work that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association does for the world. I only want to point out how subtly error can creep in. (The proverbial "three fingers" are pointing back at me!)
I read an article by Michael Loomis at AD70.netabout The Millennium. If Mike's presentation is indeed true, then all believers would be post-millennialists!
I have been following the recent discussions about the "rapture" of the church. I put it in quotes because it can be a controversial doctrine in Christian circles. A friend pursued this subject with me, and I obligingly (and willingly) joined him.
We believers must wrestle with the Scriptures and allow God to win. It usually happens when a brother or sister, who has a better handle on that Scripture than we do, comes and shows us where we are wrong in our thinking. This is God's grace, and nothing less.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, gthat you may not grieve as others do hwho have no hope. 14 For isince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him jthose who have fallen asleep.
15 For this we declare to you kby a word from the Lord,4 that lwe who are alive, who are left until mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For nthe Lord himself will descend ofrom heaven pwith a cry of command, with the voice of qan archangel, and rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And sthe dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be tcaught up together with them uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so vwe will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words."(Biblia.com)
This passage describes an event future to its readers: the Rapture of the Church in the first century A.D. Paul is explaining to the church at Thessalonica that their grief over lost loved ones who believed in Christ is not hopeless. They would indeed see them again - at the Rapture!
So Who Are "We?"
The argument is over whether the "we" in verses 15 and 17 (orange with yellow) includes the readers in Thessalonica, or is it only the writers of the epistle--or is it something else. The "exclusive-we" is a Greek form of the word that defines a group as being separate from its audience, i.e. we - but not you.
This is indeed a valid argument. But "context is king," as Ed Stevens* says. To say that it excludes the readers of Paul's epistle to the Thessalonian church is hard to swallow. I would say that it distinguishes between the living saints and those who are dead:
"...we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will not precede [go before] those who have fallen asleep."(v.15)
Therefore, the exclusive-we, in context, distinguishes the living body of believers from those who are dead!
Whew!
* Ed Stevens was interviewed by Michael Loomis on AD70.net for the program, "Then and Now." This podcast helped me to solidify the explanation and understanding of the fulfilled view of the Rapture.
I have to ask myself:why have I allowed my long-cherished, ubiquitous, and infallible(?) doctrine of the futureSecond Coming of Christto bechallengedby a bunch of "heretics" known as Preterists?
Don't get me wrong: I believe Christ came, just as He said He would. I believe He is with us, and that His Kingdom is here-and-now, and forever! I also believe we may be misunderstanding the timing and method of it if we say He has not come yet.
I invite you to open this document and examine it closely byzooming in with Ctrl++ (or "View/Zoom/Zoom In" on the menu bar at the top).
Why do typewriter and print/stamp inconsistencieslook manufactured?The words all look uniform in darkness and clarity except for the occasional, strategically-placed faint/corrected character or smudged stroke. They look like they were created manually with graphic art software.
Call me a conspiracy theorist (please). But why does the certificate consist of a paper stock background with animage of a printed, bound leafsuperimposed over it, instead of just one unified form?
Also, why is the certificate'sbackground pattern, wicker basket cross-hatching, notbending with the image on the paper? Hmmm?
Kind of makes me think there may be a case of fraud here.
In order to continue providing you my readers with, well, continuous improvement, I revised my blog's description (see above). I figure I can blog about any major cosmetic changes I make so we can both reflect on where we have been and where we are going.
I have changed my blog's header to reflect a new image which I created from a photo I took in San Diego while on vacation. It was at a landmark whose name escapes me.
The alternative to seeking employment at a "company" is working for yourself. In my case, that would be an alternative universe-- a "pipe dream" -- a fantasy worthy of its expending my mental energy when the prospects of getting something I can do for a living seem bleak at best.
Welcome to the world of web design! It is a world in which its citizens explore the possibilities of an alternate universe of autonomy, or self-rule (limited by reality).
A blog is a journal, of sorts. It is an online window to the soul of the writer. A blogger must come up with something worthwhile and substantial to blog about, or he perish.
Though with fear and trepidation, I post this brief article as a herald to the New Reformation of the Christian Church on the subject of eschatology.
Just as the cry of Martin Luther in 1517 was, "the just shall live by faith"(Habakkuk 2:4), so the cry of 2012 shall be, "This generation shall not pass away until all these things take place."(Matthew 24:34)
This is a "time statement" in the New Testament worthy of all acceptance.
This throws a bolt, rather than a "wrench," into the full preterist machine. I consider myself a FP, in that I believe Jesus' prophecies regarding the end or destruction of the Old Covenantwere fulfilled in 70 A.D.
Therefore, I highly doubt that there will be a future coming in judgment on the earth by Christ because I have been looking at the preterist interpretation of these events. Their fulfillment eliminates all futurist speculations about everything in the Book of Revelation. That is what appeals to me about it (Harold Camping and others notwithstanding).
Of course, let us not go beyond what Holy Scripture says, and presume that God is "done" with everything else in the world.
He isn't!
14 But as for you, zcontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom1 you learned it 15 and how afrom childhood you have been acquainted with bthe sacred writings, cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 dAll
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that ethe man of God1 may be complete, fequipped gfor every good work.(II Peter 3:14-17 ESV)
Time limits me from elaborating. But suffice it to say I am interested in this debate betweenpostmillenialism and preterism. Bothare to be properly understood. Perhaps it is all academic. But are we not called to "reason together" with our Creator?
The daily demands of simple caregiving for my parents can be taxing. They can take their toll, along with the anxieties and concerns over many opportunities arising out of other things in life which God gives me (and allows).
The above video has absolutely, positively nothing to do with that. But I wanted to post something visual to enhance the post.
That's right! You guessed it! It's time for me to post another blog entry for cyber-posterity! Another stab at digital glory gone awry (maybe). To what do I owe this bit of inspiration, this flash-in-the-pan flight of fancy?
Hurry, my ego is deflating!
Oh, well. I thought I would say more. But alas, it's bedtime...
For some unexplainable reason, I have been inspired to install a widget on my blog which tracks Islamic terrrorist attacks. It is available fromTheReligionOfPeace.com. Here it is.
You may also view this handy widget down below this page on the right side. God save us in Jesus name, amen!
The Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (David Roberts)
Here is a link to PreteristRadio.com, which leads to an archive of preterist-related podcasts for your exploratory pleasure. Also, there is the preterist viewpoint explained here.with more podcasts here.
Incidentally, it is now May 27, 2015. I know not if Blogger will update the time stamp automatically when I finish updating this post (which was originally posted July 29, 2011 at 9:19 am). [Editor's Note: it did not :-) ]
I truly hope this helps people understand the concept of fulfilled or covenant eschatology. I know it sounds and looks heretical. But I think I am on solid ground based on Jesus' own words:
"Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass way until all these things [mentioned in the Olivet Discourse]take place."(Matthew 24:34)
Alright. I was tinkering with the advanced template editor and changed the blog description color to something a little less visible--by accident, and now I can't change it back to a darker, more visible color.
Help!
[P.S. I fixed this by changing the text color in the Advanced tab of the Template Designer in Blogger today 7/29.]
Today's post is brought to you by Firefox! This is a shameless plug, indeed. But then, this is a shameless blog! Or at least, it should be. ;)
Now, I am seeing a pattern here: three blog posts in a row about-- you guessed it-- blogging. This can only mean one of two things (or three): I don't have a point; or I have one, but I haven't figured out what it is yet.
Either way, pity the reader. Consider this blog post "breaking the ice," "clearing the cobwebs," and "greasing the skids."
I am blogging about my career-move-on-hold called web design, which I have taken online classes for. I have completed a project for a client since then, but have had to postpone any further work because of family-related reasons.
I should visit W3Schools.com to polish-- if not learn-- my new skills, hmmm?
Or I could just keep blogging because I want to. It is way too easy to be "distracted," especially on YouTube!
What is cold-blogging? Maybe another way to say it is "blogging blind." It's when you start out to compose a blog post without first looking at your blog to get a feel for what it looks like or says that day. Yes, it is that easy to forget what you blogged about the day before-- or even earlier that day, but not likely.
I do want to get back to my discussion of what Dr. James White (and others) say about preterism(and preterists). Suffice it to say I will get back to his comments, which I disagree with because I am a Christian who believes what he believes. The exception is that the "Second Coming of Christ" already happened, but not in the classic, mainstream, doctrinally popular way.
I really hate to be a kill-joy, a stick in the mud, a contrarian (well, sometimes), and a "heretic." It's not fun to be anathematized, condemned, and warned about falling away (especially when you don't even want to).
Gee whiz, futurists, lighten up! The more you guys (futurists) condemn us preterists, the more we want to flee the "crackling thorns" (Ecclesiastes 7:6) of your criticism.
Another sense in which I am "cold-blogging" or blogging "blind" is that I intend to complete this blog entry and post it without previewing it using Google Blogger's cool Preview feature.
In the words of that great bastion of theological integrity, The Tonight Show: More To Come...
I cannot think of more valuable advice at the moment than that. Be well-read. Grab any book, magazine, or newspaper article you want and read it! Feed your soul!
Now that that's off my chest, I can focus on my previous subject matter: James White's warning to those who believe Jesus meant "this generation!"(Matthew 24:34)
I really hate to disappoint Dr. White, and any other opponent of preterism. But the more they condemn us, anathematize us, and so on, the more I feel led to investigate its claims, read its main proponents (Don Preston, Ed Stevens, et al), listen to and watch its audio and video presentations, and consider it a viable if not only sane/reasonable option!
Someone help us out!
I am overwhelmed when I think of the Scriptures that clearly teach "the end of the age" as the end of the Old Covenant world of Jewish religion and life in favor of a "better way."(Hebrews 7:22)
Dear Lord Jesus, please let this video-embed code work!!! Amen
Whew! Thank you, Lord.
With that, I bring you a video slam from Dr. James White aimed at us preterists who are seeking the Truth in all of Scripture-- not just in that which lines up with church history, the creeds, and my home congregation, etc.
I want to transcribe and comment on this video because it is so classic a caricature of preterist thinking that I can refute its validity, point by emotion-driven point. I have the highest respect for Dr. White-- except when he slams me/us like this.
Begin transcript:
Caller: “Brother, how you doin’?”
JW: “Doing good.”
Caller: “You are already aware, I think, of the question I’m going to ask you. I was concerned about a verse in Luke 21:22, where Jesus says, ‘because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled,’ considering these questions that His disciples have just asked Him about His Second Coming. I just wonder if you could maybe explain to me what the Lord meant when He’s saying—especially where He uses the words ‘all things which are written will be fulfilled.’ Is this simply to the destruction of Jerusalem?”
JW: “Yeah, well, look at the context. It’s always good to avoid looking at a part of a sentence (laughs), because the sentence starts in verse 21, ‘Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days, for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentles are fulfilled.’ Of course, that phrase, ‘times of the Gentiles’ goes back to Daniel 8 and the issues related there, too.
So, if your question, if your concern, is that hon tata ge gramena “all things which have been written” means a fulfillment of all prophecy, well, given that there is a specific subject under discussion, that would be an unwarranted leap. If I’m talking about the birth of Christ, alright? If I’m talking about the incarnation in Bethlehem, and I say, we see here that all things which are written concerning the Messiah were fulfilled, I’m not, by saying that, ignoring the cross or ignoring the resurrection or ignoring the Second Coming or anything else. I’ve already defined my categories by what I’m saying in regards to the topic that’s under discussion.”
Caller: “Right. It’s just the issue right here immediately that He’s speaking of.”
JW: “Well, yeah. I mean, that would be the natural way to take what He is saying. It would be very unnatural to take anyone who is talking about a specific subject and think that when they say, ‘all things which are written,’ oh, that means every prophecy about everything, including Second Coming or incarnation or cross or whatever. No, it’s defined by the context in which it’s being discussed. This is another—this would actually be one example which you could use in talking really to anyone about where pas pas hupon, ‘all things,’has to be defined by the context in which it’s used.”
Caller: “Right. In other words, the ‘all’ is limited--”
JW: “By the context.”
Caller: “--according to the context.”
JW: “Oh, yeah, sure.”
Caller: “I go to a church that is reformed in its soteriology. But it is futurist in its eschatology. Like most churches with new visitors, you run into a kaleidoscope of people with differing beliefs. Recently, I’ve talked with a fellow that’s extremely erudite, much more so than I. But he considers himself a preterist.”
JW: “Okay.”
Caller: “Do preterists—or, at least, do some preterists, believe that Jesus actually returned—“
JW: “Yes.”
Caller: “--in the Roman armies, and that He was invisible?”
JW: “Yeah. What you’re, what would normally, historically what you’re discussing here is called ‘pantellism’ from pas pas hupon, from a text like this. All things have already been fulfilled. We are already in the eternal state. The Second Coming took place in A.D.70. The resurrection took place in A.D.70. Everything was fulfilled at that point. Now, I don’t know about you, but if this is the eternal state, I’ve got some real problems!”
Caller: “I think that’s error.”
JW: “No, it’s not just error. It’s heresy because it ends up denying the—many of these end up denying the physical nature of the resurrection of Jesus, and they end up with all sorts of problems. There’s a book which we probably should carry but don’t. But you can find it online I’m sure. And I was looking at it yesterday, because I was digging through all of my boxes looking for a particular book and of course, guess where was it? The last box I looked at! Of course, where else would it be? An hour worth of just looking for one book. And I’m—“
Caller: “Thinking of the title.”
JW: “Yeah, I can see the book and I—oh, the fellow works for Ligonier Ministries. Doggone it! ‘When Shall These Things Come to Pass,’ I think is what it was called.”
Caller: “Okay.”
JW: “Um, oh, drat it all! Maybe somebody in channel, uh… Yes! Mathison, thank you. Yes, ‘hopester’ up in Idaho just saved me. Keith Mathison…”
Caller: “Keith Mathison, yeah.”
JW: “Keith Mathison has written a book on the subject of what I would prefer calling hyper-preterism, because there is partial preterism, which would be more the standard Reformed viewpoint, that certain elements of Matthew 24, Luke 21, are fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70—but not all. To say that everything [is fulfilled] becomes hyperpreterism.
Caller: “Right.”
JW: “So, there’s a real dividing line, and unfortunately, individual writers and people like that are not necessarily overly consistent in their utilization of the language. So, preterists who are actually hyper-preterists will simply call themselves preterists, and partial-preterists will call themselves preterists. And so it can be very, very confusing.”
Caller: “Right.”
JW: “And it’s, to be honest with you, is an area that is-- I would say there’s a number of areas in systematic theology that would keep me from ever writing a book on systematic theology because I just don’t enjoy the discussion of them. And this would be one of them, and that’s why I would refer you to something like Keith Mathison’s book on that particular subject to provide you with a good response.”
Caller: “Don’t these folks have some real problems, though, with a text of Scripture like, you know, even in this passage. I mean, right when it describes the Second Coming, it talks about the signs in the sun and the moon and the stars? I mean, these supernatural events…”
JW: “They would actually connect those to Old Testament prophecies in reference to limited judgments upon Israel in the past.”
Caller: “Uh huh.”
JW: “Believe me, once you accept the overarching interpretive hermeneutic of hyper-preterism, they can come up with an answer for anything.”
Caller: “Yeah.”
JW: “The problem is, the result is, something that has almost no resemblance to historic, Biblical Christianity at all. It’s really a mess. So, I would refer you to Mathison before I end up saying things that I would probably…”
Caller: “It’s called, ‘When Shall These Things Come?’ ”
JW: “Um, you know, all you’d have to do is Google “keith mathison” or Amazon “keith mathison.” I think that was the title. But, off the top of my head, I wouldn’t be able to give you the specific title.”
Caller: “You know, Dr. White, it’s amazing how intelligent that someone can sound, and how well-read that they can be…”
JW: (laughs)
Caller: “…and yet, I mean, because, you know, I don’t feel like I’m that much of an intellectual when it comes to these things. I have to read—you know, it amazes me how you remember so many-- you must have a brain like a big hard drive on a computer, because I can’t remember this stuff without it in front of me. But yet, it’s just like you said, I mean, here I’ve got a really nice guy, this guy’s a really wonderful guy—“
JW: “Yeah.”
Caller: “Very intelligent sounding. But yet, you know, according-- you just called him a heretic!”
JW: “Well, yeah, you got to remember something. First of all…”
Caller: “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that said about preterism!”
JW: “First of all, it’s called, “When Shall These Things Be: A Reformed Response to Hyperpreterism.” It’s on Amazon for $12.59. I just popped it up real quick.”
Caller: “Great.”
JW: “Secondly, remember, heresy is not a matter—okay, let me back up. Heresy is not always a matter of intellect. In fact, while heresy often is due to a lack of teaching—Scripture talks about, you know, watch your doctrine, and those who are untaught and unstable. But, you see, you can be taught and unstable, and still fall into error. In fact, knowledge puffs up, and when someone becomes puffed up, to the point where they are unwilling to be corrected, or think that they can see things no one else has ever, ever, ever seen in the text of Scripture…”
Caller: “Right.”
JW: “That’s always a danger. And let’s, let’s, let’s-- I’m going to be very honest here, and, folks, if anyone misrepresents me on this, and misquotes me on this, there’s nothing I can do about it. But there is a danger amongst Reformed people to get into these kinds of things, because they start realizing, they start seeing the connections in Scripture about certain doctrines, and all of a sudden they start, they get on their hobby horse and start running. If they’re not grounded in a good church, if they’re not grounded in teaching, if they’re not grounded in ministering to the saints, and things like that, they can become so puffed up and arrogant in their thinking, that they end being succeptible to all sorts of stuff like this.
"There is a balance that must be maintained. The Scriptures tell us that we must love the truth. That means loving all of the truth. We can, in our arrogance, endanger our own souls by not having the balance that we need to have in being a part of the church, and ministering to others and sometimes intellectuals think that this might be just a little bit below them.”
I am listening to free podcasts of RC Sproul teaching his series of lectures called, "The Last Days According to Jesus." Now, who does NOT want to understand this subject with a title like that? Any Christian worth his "salt" SHOULD try to do so!
Well, I have been getting educated on the partial and full ("hyper") preterist views of eschatology by way of Dr. Sproul.
Well, well, well. It looks like the full (Biblical) preterist view of the millennium postulates an interpretation of 40 years, i.e., the transition period from Jesus' earthly ministry to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.
Does this mean I am a post-millennial preterist who believes in a first-century physical rapture?
Now that you have registered your account with Blogger.com, or some other blogging website, you can visit and post almost any content (within reason). But what to blog about? That is the perennial question lurking in the back of your (and my) mind...
I still maintain that my blog is a Seinfeld-esque, blog-about-nothing! The nice thing is, you can link anything to "nothing" and come up with something!
"I think you may have something here."(Jerry Seinfeld)
I thought I would leave this bit of punnery in the title to attract attention to today's post. I have been browsing the Internet with Opera, and I noticed it does not support HTML5 and/or CSS3.
How do I know? Because Google's(?) beautiful template for my blog is minimally evident in the basic colors and rudimentary design elements showing with Opera rendering the page. This is in remarkable contrast to the truly stunning rendering by, say, Internet Explorer 9, which does justice to the current web design standards.
Well, as computer technology would have it, I spoke too soon, because now Opera is rendering the page just fine. I guess it pays to be patient.
Just for fun, I thought I would post a link to my comment on a podcast at AD70.net called "Two Guys and a Bible." Since this is a blog, and not Facebook, I will elaborate ad nauseum. Or not.
Right now I am listening to the podcast from January 18, 2011. For a little encouragement in your own preterist leanings (you know you have them :), listen to it and read lots of articles addressing "the spread ofCovenant Eschatology." (Don Preston)
Ready to have your paradigm shifted... again? How about just shaken a bit? Here you go.
