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• to temperance, frugality, and industry,
• to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and
• to piety, love and reverence towards Almighty God.
What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.
From time to time, people ask me which church I attend.
There isn't an entity calling itself a "church" anywhere on planet earth that wants me within 100 miles of its front door.
I've shared the biographical information below with a number of church pastors, and they have told me bluntly, "Stay away from my church."
Let me spin this as positively as I can:
These propositions might seem at first glance to be perfectly reasonable and perfectly acceptable to any church.
Now let me spin this more transparently, more realistically, more offensively.
If you think about these doctrines, and practice or meditate on them with logical consistency, they are astonishing, and then they are offensive. Most pastors don't want their congregations thinking about these things too much. They want their congregations to feel good. Thinking upsets people.
Not only are my views considered "heretical," I've been told by many people that I'm not even a Christian.
What's worse, I love to spread my ideas. I have thousands of blog posts and webpages like this one. I like getting into conversations with people and promoting my "heresies."
I would love to convert everyone in every church to my point of view.
Let's think about these simple propositions like Bereans (Acts 17:11). You'll see why no pastor wants me near his church.
I believe in God. There are a lot of people in churches on Sunday morning who say "I believe in God," but what evidence is there of this on Monday through Saturday?
I believe God is the creator. The Bible says God created everything there is, probably no more than 10,000 years ago. (Yikes! A "creationist!" A "fundamentalist!")
There is an unbridgeable gap between the Creator and the creature (Romans 1:25).
The Westminster Confession and Catechisms set forth a "Calvinist" doctrine of God. Many people hate that term. I believe in "the Five Points of Calvinism." Calvin would not have let me in his church. Calvin would have put me to death.
If I were to describe what I think God is like, most people would say they don't believe in that kind of God. And they're even more offended that I try to impress this "Calvinist" theology into every area of my life, even "secular" areas, including Monday through Saturday.
Predestination
Before the Creator created all that is, the Creator knew the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 21:6, 13). God knows the future because God created it. The future has already been created. This is called "predestination," meaning the the destination of the creation was designed and set in motion before ("pre") it was even created. The path of every molecule and sub-atomic particle in the universe was set in motion, and is carefully and lovingly conducted by God through history to its predestined end. The thoughts I think and the feelings I feel are wave-particles of energy and chemicals that travel across the synapses of my brain and through my heart and "reins." All predestined by God. Some say my belief makes man a "robot." But God did not create man as a robot. You and I both know that we are not "robots." God created man in His Image. That means when I think and plan, when I paint a picture or compose a symphony, when I build a log cabin or a skyscraper that can house 25,000 people, I am engaged in the wonder-filled task of exercising dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28), something animals do not do.
No matter how glorious I think man is, by virtue of his being created in the Image of God, there are those who feel that my conception of God "violates" human "free will."
"Arminians" call me a "Calvinist." They don't want me in their churches.That's a place to transition to the second of my propositions. I believe that if you believe in "free will," you do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
I say that not on the grounds that the Bible teaches something other than "free will," but because if God cannot "violate" man's "free will," there cannot be a Bible at all.
If you believe in "free will," or that God cannot "violate" man's "free will," then you cannot logically believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
The words in the Bible were written by the hands of human beings, but I believe the Bible is the Word of God. God speaks through those human words. This says something
• about the words,
• something about the human authors of the
words,
• as well as something about the God of the Bible.
God wrote the Bible using "human pens." God made their hands move the way He wanted them to move. In the Bible, the will of God is sovereign over the will of man. 1 Peter 1:21 says
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Of course, it was the "will" of Moses and Isaiah and Paul and other authors to write down words. Moses wrote what God told him to write, but perhaps Moses would say he wrote those words "of my own free will." Nobody pointed a gun at Moses' head and forced him to write. But what Peter says is controversial. Even though Moses and other Biblical authors freely wrote the words they intended to write, God was doing something through them and the words they wrote. They did not write those words solely by their own "free will." Their hands moved the way God willed them to move.
It's true, we can tell the differences between the words Moses wrote, the words Luke wrote, the words John wrote, and the words Paul wrote. They all had their own individual personalities and writing styles. But the men who wrote the words of Scripture had their lives — their parents, training, and life experiences — all orchestrated by God so that — guided by the Holy Spirit — they would write the exact words that God wanted to be written so that God could communicate exactly what He wanted to communicate to the human race. Their words are God's words. God's will trumps their will. Paul told Timothy that God "breathed out" His words through these human authors (2 Timothy 3:16, [theópneustos (Strong's #2315, from 2316 /theós, "God" and 4154 /pnéō, "breathe out"]).
To say that the Bible is the Word of God is to say that God's will is sovereign over the will of man. Some people find this deeply offensive. God made the mouths of Moses, David, and Isaiah speak the words God wanted spoken. God made the hands of Matthew, Paul, and John write the words God wanted written. If God did not overrule the "free" and fallible will of man, how did their will to speak and write beget the infallible Word of God?
I don't use the term "free will," because secular philosophers use that term to suggest that if there is a god, such a god doesn't know what's going on, and is constantly being surprised at what the will of man does. So I would never say that I have "free will" and can do something that will catch God off-guard. God knows what I think and what I feel and what I will do because He predestined it all. But I am not a rock, or an insect, or an animal, or a robot. I am a human being created in the Image of God. Amazing.Some will say that since God predestines even sin, and then punishes sinners for the sin God predestined them to commit, it would be better if sinners had never been born. They had no "free will." They had no choice. "That's not fair." And if it's not "fair," it can't be true. This claim is logical. If a man has no free will, and gets punished for what God predestined him to to, it would be better for him if he had never been born. But Mark 14:21 says exactly that: God predestined Jesus to be sinfully put to death:
"The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
That's pretty scary. Judas had no choice in whether he would be born. God created Judas without asking Judas for permission, and predestined Judas to commit a terrible sin (John 19:11).
But Judas was created in the Image of God. All sinners are created in the Image of God. And in the end, every knee will bow and every sinner will admit that God's Judgment is fair (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11). All sinners will say "I admit. I sinned." All sinners will admit that God is just. Even though He predestined them to sin (Romans 9; Isaiah 10).
Christians who oppose the Sovereignty of God and uphold the "free will" of man claim that predestination "makes man a puppet." But as I said, man is clearly not a puppet; man is created in the Image of God, and we all know this. But the Bible agrees that God's sovereignty makes man a "puppet" of God's decree. The Bible describes man not as a "puppet," however, but as a bucket of water.
Well, not a bucket, but a river of water.
Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
How is this not like being "a puppet?"
Is a meandering river created in the Image of God?
How is the opponent of God's Sovereignty not making an accusation against God?
I said I believe the Bible is the Word of God. That means I worship the Bible. That alarms nearly every church I know.
The Bible claims to be the Word of God. It claims that God speaks to human beings. It claims that God used human beings the way I am using a keyboard as I write this.
Let's consider first the claim that God speaks, and the Bible is God speaking to us.
Imagine that a UFO lands on the White House lawn, and an extraterrestrial being hands the President a Peace Treaty. The ET says, "Read this Treaty. It tells you how to cure cancer, end war, obtain free energy, eliminate the threat of global warming, and extend lifespans by hundreds of years. If you agree to abide by its terms, our race will help your race. If you do not agree, we will destroy you. We will wait right here for your answer."
Network television will have their cameras at the White House 24/7. Commentators will be speculating endlessly about what the extraterrestrial Treaty says, and whether or not the President will accept their terms. People will cancel vacations and having children, breathlessly waiting for the decision, knowing their entire future hangs in the balance.
If there are any ET's in the universe, they were created by the God of the Bible. His Word is more important than the word of any ET. But we spend more time watching CNN or FoxNews than we spend listening to the Bible, even though the news channels aren't covering anything as interesting as a UFO on the White House lawn. For some, "news" doesn't get our attention as much as sports, soaps, or celebrities.
All the while, we have a book from the Creator of the universe sitting un-read on a shelf next to the Flat Screen TV.
What the heck is wrong with us?
The Bible is a Peace Treaty that God is willing to enter into with those who have been in rebellion against Him. The Treaty calls for unconditional surrender on our part.
Here is perhaps the #1 reason no church wants to be infiltrated by someone who believes the Bible was actually written by God.
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The Bereans are commended for questioning the church. They heard a message from the Apostles and checked what they heard with the Scriptures. There is no entity on planet earth who wants their members questioning what the church has taught and comparing church doctrine with the Bible.
Especially regarding the "heretical" ideas I'll be raising below.
Even though Protestant churches champion "sola Scriptura" and the "priesthood of all believers." They don't really mean it. They don't like Bereans.
I love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Not just part-way. That makes me an "extremist." People tell me I take the Bible to an extreme. I think I just take it consistently. At least I try.
If you disagree with this -- if you want to avoid "extremes" -- then you want to be at point "M" on the chart below:
| Extreme | Middle of the Road | Extreme |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L | M | N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Capitalism | Apathy | Tyranny |
| Theocracy | Lukewarm | Atheism |
| Love | Indifference | Hate |
Do you want to be a Grade "A" Christian? Then you had better avoid being a Grade "Z" Christian with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
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If you are not an extremist in defense of the Bible, what is the guiding principle that prevents you from being a defender of tyranny, atheism and hate? Is "moderation" the Grand Principle that you believe will keep America from collapsing into chaos and lawlessness? When Jesus said "Love your neighbor," was He really just telling us not to hate our neighbor, to avoid extremes, and have an attitude of "moderation" toward our neighbor? Can Lukewarm Indifference ever be Christlike?
Even if my goal were no more than "moderation," if you are at point "Z," I must be an "extremist" in the opposite direction, and advocate "A" in order to get you to point "M," because if I only advocate "Moderation," "Z + M" only brings you to point "T." Life is a tug-of-war. If you don't pull the rope with every ounce of strength you have, you're in the mud. Jesus said the struggle to overcome the world is "agonizing."
I advocate "A" on the scale above. I'm trying to get you to adopt "A" as your position as well. If you're a Moderate and I move you toward "A" to any degree, I've succeeded. For now.
If you follow some of what the Bible says, you are not following anything the Bible says. If you pick and choose, you are your own god.
Even if you choose to follow Jesus 99% of the time (using your "free will"), it is still YOU who are choosing, you who approve of 99% of Jesus' commands, you who put yourself in the place of God and judge some of what Christ said to be wrong, you who are acting as lord of your life. You view religion as a Smörgåsbord. You pick and choose depending on what YOU like, but do not view the Word of God as an absolutely binding package deal. Everybody agrees with something Jesus said, even some real sickos. A Christian is someone who believes everything Jesus said. Nothing less than full submission counts for anything.
Q. 5. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
(Westminster Larger Catechism)
We live in a culture that does not want to be reminded of its duties. It prefers to talk about its "rights." I don't believe in "human rights." I don't believe in "Justification by mere belief." I believe in Justification by Allegiance.
Obedience is more important than intelligence.
The word "Theocracy" comes from two Greek words meaning "God Governs." Our duty is to be governed by God. "We must obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29). We've been trained in our secular schools to fear "Theocracy." But we're not tempted to accept an Islamic Theocracy, where Allah is our national god. We've been trained to reject a Christian Theocracy. We accept a Secular Humanist theocracy, where every man is his own god.
Our job as Christians is to make the entire planet a Christocracy. Augustine wrote about the conflict between "The City of God" and the City of Man.
Now we get into thicker weeds. The next three items are:
Nobody disagrees with these views in the abstract, but if I make them too practical, or apply them to the wrong people, then these views become heretical and offensive. Together these views lead me to a conclusion that everyone rejects. Passionately rejects. I used to reject it myself when I was younger.
I believe that God says "Thou shalt not kill." "Everybody knows" that Jesus commanded His disciples to be "pacifists," but most churches say we can't take that to an "extreme." Most churches defend some killing. If someone personally insults you, you might be a "pacifist." It's OK to be "super spiritual" in your "private" life. But if some foreigner publicly insults your secular government, you'll "support the troops" as they drop bombs and kill children. "Spiritual" in the private sector, "responsible" and "practical" and "realistic" in the public sector.
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Jesus commands us to
During the 20th century, hundreds of millions of human beings were murdered by atheists, many of whom attended churches regularly. During my lifetime, "Christians" who worked for "my" government killed, crippled, or made homeless tens of millions of innocent non-combatant civilians around the world. I think the United States is the enemy of God and humanity. I guess other Christians think it's OK to inflict mass suffering and terror in order to keep gas prices down. "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" "I Pledge Allegiance...."
The Bible says we should beat our "swords into plowshares" (Micah 4). Most churches disagree. They cheer their members when they don the uniform of a soldier for a "New World Order."
A Jewish scholar named Franz Oppenheimer divided people into two groups.
The word "economic" comes from two Greek words meaning "home + law," or "management of a household." The home/family is what makes the "private sector" productive. Families work and then trade with other families, creating "the free market." After the fall of the Roman Empire, or polis, families did business around the world, without intervention by the "public sector." This was called "the Lex Mercatoria." It was eventually captured by "political man," the "public sector." We can use Augustine's phrase to describe the economic/family/private sector "The City of God," and the political/public sector "The City of Man."
Because Christians are "pacifists," they believe in overcoming evil with good. In Romans 12, we respond to evil with gifts: food or drink; in Romans 13 we respond to evil with gifts of money, hoping in these cases that God will grant repentance to those who do evil to us.
Taxation is extortion, a form of theft. There isn't a single verse in the Bible to which any human being alive today can point to and say, "This verse assures me that if I declare myself to be the king, I can threaten you with violence if you do not give me the money I demand, and God will not hold me guilty of sin."
If someone sins against you, and you do everything Jesus says to do in order to help that person repent and right his wrongs, Jesus says to "excommunicate" him (our modern terminology, not His), and treat him like someone who cannot possibly be a genuine Christian: "a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17).
Nobody can read the Bible and avoid the conclusion that the institution we call "the State" is institutionalized vengeance.
If someone does something you don't like, you are prohibited from taking vengeance, from confiscating his property, or depriving him of his life.
You are also prohibited from hiring a "contract killer" to kill him. Wouldn't you agree? You personally didn't do the killing -- the "hit-man" you hired actually did the killing -- but you share in the guilt.
You are also prohibited from "voting" for someone to be your "representative" and kill people you don't like.
So
• if you oppose violence,
• if you oppose theft, and
• if you oppose vengeance,
every political science professor in every university on planet earth, and every seminary professor, and every
pastor of every entity calling itself a "church" is going to say you are an "anarchist."
The word "anarchist" comes from two Greek words meaning "not an archist."
An "archist" is one who believes he has a right to impose his own will on others by force or threats of violence. Chiefly, the "archist"
imposes his will on others through the machinery of "the State," whose tactics include
• fines,
• prisons,
• torture,
• executions,
• armed invasions, and
•
terrorism.
The Christian, on the contrary, believes it is always sinful to impose your own will on others by initiating force or threatening violence.
A logically consistent Christian pacifist is an anarchist, for two reasons:
• First, a pacifist is against violence, and "the State" is institutionalized, systematic violence;
•
Second, Jesus prohibits His followers from being "archists"
I know, that sounds "weird." "Anarchism?" Aren't "anarchists" bad people?
As I read the Bible, the bad guys are the "archists." Chapter after chapter in the Bible says "archists" are false gods.
From cover to cover, the Bible opposes violent people, like Cain, Lamech, violent men that provoked the flood in Noah's day, Nimrod, and so on. These evil, violent people are the ones who created "civil government."
The Origin of "the State" ("Civil Government") - Political Philosophy 101 According to the BibleChristians who strongly oppose "anarchism" (I used to be one of them) believe the Bible prescribes (not just describes) civil governments. They believe God's Law contains laws for "governments."
Every political science professor in every university on planet earth will agree that the essential nature of "the State" is violence. It claims a "monopoly on violence." Wikipedia || Encyclopedia Britannica || Oxford || More: The State as Monopoly of Violence
Using the Greek word from which we derived the English word "anarchist," Jesus plainly says His followers are not to be "archists." Mark 10:42-45. We are to be servants, not "archists." "Not" + "archist" = "anarchist"
Only Jesus is a legitimate Archist.
People who don't see earthly "archists" as bad guys are themselves guilty of idolatry.
The Bible is an "Anarchist Manifesto."
God says "Thou shalt not steal."
You would never go up to your next-door neighbor, put a gun to his head, and say "give me some of your money."
But you vote for people who promise
to do this on your behalf, and give the money to you or people you approve of.
There is no ethical difference between "taxes" and "extortion."
Here's an example of me butting-in on someone's blog and promoting my views: Godwords.
"What about Romans 13?" I'm always asked this question when I say I'm an "anarcho-pacifist."
Romans 12 and 13 are a unit on not resisting evil. "Bless those who persecute you" (Romans 12:14) does not mean that persecutors have God's ethical approval. They need to repent. We are not to resist evil (Romans 12:19), but to overcome evil with good gifts (Romans 12:21), even (turn the page) the most evil entity on the planet: The State (Romans 13:1ff). Paul refers to the Empire as "the Powers." Everywhere that Greek word is used in the New Testament, it means "demonic." Even the Romans believed that demons (daimones, daimoneV) guided the Empire. In Romans 13, Paul is talking about something that everyone knew was evil. Monstrously, hideously evil.
The message of Romans 12-13 is "be subject to evil." Overcome evil with good. The message of Romans 13 is not "evil is good."
Yes, "all things work together for good" (Romans 13:4; 8:28), even evil things, like "principalities and powers" (Romans 8:38) and their sword (Romans 8:35).
But evil people have a moral obligation to repent of things that pacifists have a moral obligation to submit to.
So what is the result of my extreme Biblicism?
I call it the “Vine & Fig Tree” worldview. I created a non-profit organization to promote this worldview.
People tell me that my extremism is "unrealistic," "impractical," and "utopian."
In his diary on February 22, 1756, John Adams, later second President of the United States, wrote this:
Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience,
• to temperance, frugality, and industry,
• to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and
• to piety, love and reverence towards Almighty God.
What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.
I believe the only law book we need is the Bible. I'll say more about this in just a minute. The Bible is a textbook for every subject, not just religion. In our day, that's one of the most offensive things anyone can say. If you said this from the pulpit, half the church would leave, and the other half would leave as soon the first half explained to them what you meant.
I know my way around a law library. I've spent hundreds of hours in law libraries studying the law. I passed the California Bar Exam, but was denied a license to practice law because America -- once a Christian nation -- is now a secular nation, and Christians cannot become attorneys, according to the Supreme Court of the United States, because their allegiance to God's Law Book trumps their allegiance to Washington D.C.'s law books. Details.
Not everyone is going to take the Bible as their only law book, and behave like Jesus commands all men to behave. What should we do about these people? Jesus gave us a step-by-step blueprint to follow in Matthew 18. Here's how that could work out. The Bible never commanded human beings to form "governments" to deal with criminals by taking vengeance against them. In fact, it is a sin to create a government. Creating a government is a rejection of God (1 Samuel 8). The cost to society of a government is greater than the cost to society of criminals under anarcho-pacifism. We'll return to this below.
The "institutional church" is a pale imitation of "The State," or the Empire.
The "Roman Catholic Church" is a pale imitation of the Roman Empire, or "Holy Roman Empire."
Protestant churches are a pale imitation of
the Roman Catholic Church.
All institutional churches concede the right of "the public sector" to engage in acts of theft and violence toward "the private sector." "Political Man" over "Economic
Man."
There's another highly controversial issue. People tell me I'm insane (not rational) for believing this. After I show them my reasons for believing this, they might grant that I'm not irrational, but they say I'm heretical, because even if I have the Bible on my side, I don't have "the Church Fathers" on my side. In fact, some go so far as to say that I'm not a Christian at all for believing this.
When I was younger I did not believe this, and I would have said that anyone who believed this was either non-rational, heretical, or should be excommunicated as a person who cannot possibly be a genuine Christian.
The word "preterism" comes from the Latin word for past.
I believe "the Second Coming of Christ" already happened. In the past, not in our future.
Virtually every Christian I meet says this is insane. Unhinged. Looney. Not rational.
They'll tell me, "Open your eyes! Just look around! Seriously??"
Believe me, I know that my views are considered "out there." And this view is the most "out there" of all. Most church-goers are aware that some Christians are "pacifists." That can be tolerated. Some of these Christians, because they oppose killing and extortion, want to have nothing whatever to do with "government," and they are called "anarchists" or "anabaptists" and other insults. They're considered kooky (unlike the violent revolutionary assassins who are called "anarchists" even though they are actually "archists" who use violence to get their way, and want to be in charge of their own new government).
But the claim that the Second Coming of Christ already happened is either dangerously heretical or flat out insane.
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How To Interpret the Bible
In order to convince you that I am not insane, I need you to read a couple hundred verses of Scripture (found below). If you're willing to make the effort to get inside the mind of the authors of Scripture, by taking a couple of hours to read a lot of verses you haven't thought about before, you will say something to me like, "OK, you're not insane. I can see why you would come to that conclusion."
But even though you might admit that I'm not insane, you won't be able to admit that the Bible does not teach that Jesus will return in our future.
"If you don't believe in a future coming of Christ," you'll tell me, "you've denied The Faith and you're not even a Christian."
Even though I'm making a rational attempt to follow the teachings of the Bible.
"The Faith" means "the doctrines of the catholic church." The doctrines of "the church fathers."
Many people have told me I'm not a Christian because of the way I interpret the Bible on the issue of "eschatology." They believe this very strongly and dogmatically.
But their passion is matched by their ignorance of the Bible.
If you're willing to read a couple hundred verses of the Bible and re-think what you've been taught since Sunday School, keep reading. If you're not willing to be a "Berean" and "search the Scriptures," then click here to skip this section.
When I present my case for Preterism, they can't refute it. They can't give me a single verse to support their view or to refute an idea which they furiously believe is a damnable heresy.
I believe the New Testament says that Christ's Second Coming was a coming in judgment against the same generation that witnessed His First Coming.
That judgment happened in the year 70 A.D.
The New Testament has a great deal to say about this event. It is a major theme. Yet most church-goers have never heard of it, and certainly haven't heard about it as often as it is talked about in the pages of the New Testament.
Read every verse in the Bible that talks about this event. Verses like these:
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Matthew 21:40-41,43,45: When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers? '....He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.' ....Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.' ....When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.
Matthew 22:7: But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Matthew 24:1-3: Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Jesus predicted that His Coming in judgment would occur before that generation died out:
Matthew 16:27-28 The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (cf. Mark. 8:38 - 9:1; Luke 9:26-27)
Matthew 24:34: This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
There are more than 100 verses in the New Testament which say that the Second Coming would occur within 40 years (one generation).
These verses are very clear.
Basic rules of interpreting Scripture include
(1) put the verse in context
(2) interpret unclear verses in light of clearer verses
The context of the New Testament is the "any moment" return of Christ. It is a dominant theme in the New Testament. It was on everyone's mind.
The timing is very clear. Any verse which speaks of the Second Coming of Christ which is not
as clear in stating the timing should be interpreted in light of the many verses which more clearly state the timing.
Following these well-accepted rules of "hermeneutics" (rules for interpreting written texts), it becomes clear (to me, anyway) that the only thing on the mind of the writers of the New Testament was the imminent return of Christ in their generation; there is not a single verse in the New Testament which was intended by its author and understood by its original audience to be prophesying an event thousands of years in the future (in our future).
Let me repeat that:
| There is not a single verse in the New Testament which was intended by its author and understood by its original audience to be prophesying an event thousands of years in the future. |
The New Testament writers were focused on events that would take place in their generation.
If I stood in your pulpit and read the dozens of verses that speak of an "any moment" coming of Christ, then asked for a verse which predicts another coming of Christ thousands of years in the future, I'll bet that nobody in your congregation could name a single verse which cannot rationally and faithfully be understood to be speaking of an event in our past. And yet they would all agree, strongly, that my view is "heretical" and "unBiblical."
In a sentence, this is my view:
Jesus is the Christ.
In 2022, almost nobody believes that statement to be true.When you first hear it, you might think that the juxtaposition of "Jesus" and "Christ" is obvious and not at all controversial. But when you dig deeper, it appears that this is the most controversial proposition on planet earth.
And -- most surprisingly -- the vast, overwhelming majority of professing, church-going (or non-churching) Christians do not believe that Jesus is the Christ today.
I defend the proposition that Jesus is the Messiah right now, and has fulfilled or is fulfilling all the "messianic prophecies" -- even those prophecies most Christians reserve for "the millennium" or "the New Heavens and New Earth."
And I respect the fact that you think I'm a dangerous looney for claiming that the Second Coming already happened. I used to think that way too. Here are the verses on "this generation" and the "any moment return of Christ."
This is the most important issue in the world today, and -- if you think about it -- it is the most important issue in the Bible.
It is the most important issue in the world today because hundreds of millions of human beings have been murdered by those attempting to impose "socialism," and the lives of billions have been subjected to poverty and tyranny, while billions of people have had their lives improved under capitalism -- the freedom to live free from socialists and other archists.
Biblically speaking, this is evidence of whether you believe in God or not. Specifically, whether you believe in Providence. If you don't believe Jesus is the all-powerful Messiah, then you are a deist, if not an atheist, and the god of deism is a false god.
The concept of "The Invisible Hand of Divine Providence" is personal, while deism eventually sifts out as evolutionary. Evolution is the impersonal and random soil in which socialism thrives. Evolution is a religion; an archist religion; a rival to the religion of Christ.
Idolatry is the subject of the First Commandment, it is the #1 issue in the pages of the Bible, and socialism is idolatry. Human archism is a false god. False "gods" are condemned throughout the Bible. "Civil government" is an idol.
The vast majority of church-going Christians cannot understand how Jesus could be reigning as the Messiah right now -- today -- without being physically present on earth, sitting on a literal throne in Jerusalem.
It is because they do not understand this that they cannot coherently explain one of the most important concepts in our world today: Why Capitalism is better than Socialism.
Because they don't understand economics, they don't understand how Jesus can reign as Messiah without creating a police state.
Most church-goers cannot explain why capitalism has created the highest standard of living in human history, while socialism leads to poverty and mass death.
Capitalism is a pacifist economic system. Capitalism is for "Economic Man." Socialism is for "Political Man."
Church-going Christians do not understand how God governs the world.
Church-going Christians do not understand how God wants the world to operate.
Church-going Christians do not understand the Kingdom-Reign of God and our role in it.
Socialism is when your life is all about "standing up for your rights." Archism.
Capitalism is when your life is all about raising the standard of living of other people. Service.
The Bible is a capitalist blueprint for healing our world.
That's "good news."
And "good news" is the meaning of the word "gospel"
What is "the gospel?"
The word "Gospel" = "Good News"
The Greek word is εὐαγγέλιον, euangélion or
εὐαγγελίζω, euangelízō
eu = good
angelizō = bring a message,
from
ἄγγελος, ángelos, "angel," "messenger" [digression]
So what is the "message," the "good news?"
That's "good news!"
What is "blessed?"
People who heard the Gospel in New Testament times knew their Bibles.
See Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Leviticus 26:3ff.
"All nations shall be blessed."
Not many people today believe that "good news."
Seems like most churches have a gloomy message:
Things are getting worse and worse, sin is multiplying in these "last days," the "Great Tribulation" and "Armageddon" are just around the corner.
But if you believe "the gospel," you can escape this wretched planet and go to heaven.
Is that really "good news?"
Why did God put us human beings on this planet in the first place?
Was that a mistake?
Should God have just left us in heaven instead of putting us on earth?
Galatians 3:8 says the gospel -- the "good news" -- is:
"All nations shall be blessed."
What is "blessed?"
Leviticus 26 ties "blessing" to the point I made above, regarding "capitalism" and "socialism."
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Some churches teach that "blessing" is "spiritual." But the Bible says that to be "blessed" means to live in a "capitalistic" society, free from socialists, "brown shirts," and tribute collectors.
Leviticus 26:3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments,
and perform them, ... you shall ... dwell in your land safely.
6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down,
and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts,
and the sword will not go through your land.
"None will make you afraid" reminds me of Micah's “Vine & Fig Tree” prophecy (Micah 4:1-7).
"The sword" = armed agents of "The State"
"The sword" is not "good news." See the verses here.
Our goal is to turn the entire planet into the City of God, so that God's will is done in earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10)
"The Gospel" is the "good news" that if we let God be our governor, there will be "Peace on Earth" (Luke 2:14).
God is your governor if you are governed by His Word.
Jesus is your Messiah if you obey Him as King.
Jesus is not your King if you vote for another king (1 Samuel 8).
Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus is the Messiah
Jesus is the King.
The two most controversial words in that statement are the words "IS" and "THE."
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Most church-going Christians believe that Jesus will become the Messiah at a future Christmas, a future advent, a future "Second Coming." But the word "IS" -- present tense -- is the wrong word to use about Jesus being the Messiah. To say
that Jesus "is" the Messiah is to say that He already became the Messiah and began reigning in the past. The word "preterit" is from the Latin word for "past," and the idea that Jesus began reigning as Messiah in the past is called
"the heresy of preterism."
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The word "Christ" also has many meanings. The basic meaning is "anointed," as in "king" (Matthew 21:5 ), e.g., "King of
Israel" (John 1:49). Jesus is also called a "Ruler" (Micah 5:2),
a "Potentate" (1 Timothy 6:15 ), a "Governor" (Matthew
2:6 ), a "Captain" (Hebrews 2:10 ), a "Prince" (Isaiah
9:6 ), and many other words (some of which we aren't familiar with in our day, like "Horn" [Luke 1:69 ]) which are political in
nature.
Many political terms can be inferred:
My point is that Jesus is the -- THE -- the ONLY -- legitimate king, prince, ruler, president, prime minister, governor, legislator, judge, and potentate. If we simply practice what we preach -- by obeying His commandments -- we will have a peaceful, orderly, and prosperous society. All other earthly kings, princes, rulers, presidents, prime ministers, governors, legislators, judges, and potentates are illegitimate usurpers and anti-Christ.
When I say that Jesus is the only legitimate ruler, and the Bible our only law book, people think. "What are you, some kind of ANARCHIST?" That suspicion is the kind of thing we were all taught in schools run by earthly kings, princes, rulers, presidents, prime ministers, governors, legislators, judges, and potentates. We are never taught what Jesus taught. It is illegal in the U.S.A. to teach in government-run schools what Jesus taught. Eventually, all "archists" ban the Bible. They have to. The Bible is their biggest enemy.
If we put the Bible into practice, we will have what John Adams called (above) a "utopia" or "paradise." If someone does not follow the Bible, and does evil, we respond to evil as pacifists, and do not vote for politicians to take vengeance against the evil-doer. The cost of voting for politicians to prevent crime is greater than the cost of crime. Jesus set out the steps to follow when someone wrongs us in Matthew 18. Here's how that would work if Jesus were the King instead of Donald Trump and millions of policemen, wardens, and bureaucrats -- who prohibit your local public school teachers from telling students that God says not to kill and not to steal, and that everyone should treat the Bible as a communication from our Creator.
Jesus said the kings of the gentiles love to impose their will on other people by political and military force, but Christ's followers are not to do these things (Mark 10:42-45). Mark uses the Greek word from which we get our English word "anarchist." He says the kings of the Gentiles love to be "archists." But Jesus says His followers are NOT to be "archists." The desire for an earthly "archist" is a rejection of God (1 Samuel 8). So some folks will say all this talk about Jesus being THE Ruler -- the only legitimate Ruler -- will lead to "anarchy." Obeying Jesus as the Christ will certainly lead to the elimination of bloodthirsty empires and their Caesars, Pharaohs, and Führers. But it will certainly not lead to chaos and lawlessness (which is what most people have been trained to think of when they hear the word "anarchism" or contemplate the absence of "archists" in the swordless Kingdom of Christ).
So what is my view in a nutshell?
Taken together, the two words "IS" and "THE" are branded as the heresy of "anarcho-preterism."
I maintain that "anarcho-preterism" is "the Gospel."
Freedom from archists is the Gospel ("good news").
Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, "In thee shall all nations be blessed."
The Scripture preached "the Gospel" to Abraham.
Q.: What is the good news?
A.: World-wide blessing.
Q.: What is "blessing?"
A.: Salvation: Being delivered from our enemies and living securely in peace and prosperity, free from archists
in a “Vine & Fig Tree” world.
Q.: How do we obtain God's blessing?
A.: By faithfully obeying His commandments.
Q.:
But is universal obedience even possible before the Second Coming?
A.: That is the promise of the New Covenant.
- Jeremiah 31
- 31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My tôrâh in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
- Ezekiel 11:19-20
- 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.- Ezekiel 36:27
- 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Jeremiah 31:33 + Galatians 3:8
New Covenant = obedience to God's Law
New Covenant = blessing throughout the
world
New Covenant = salvation/peace/safety
New Covenant = freedom from archists
Anarcho-Preterism is not tangential to the Faith. It is central.
For more, see www.JesusistheChrist.today
Thanks for reading.
But whereunto shall I liken this generation?
(Matthew 11:16-24)
(Matthew 3:7-12) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? {8} Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: {9} And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. {10} And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. {11} I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: {12} Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
(Matthew 11:16-24) But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, {17} And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. {18} For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. {19} The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. {20} Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: {21} Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. {22} But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. {23} And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. {24} But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
(Matthew 12:24-45) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. {25} And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: {26} And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? {27} And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. {28} But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. {29} Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. {30} He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. {31} Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. {32} And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. {33} Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. {34} O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. {35} 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. {36} But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. {37} For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. {38} Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. {39} But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: {40} For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. {41} The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. {42} The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. {43} When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. {44} Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. {45} Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
(Matthew 16:1-12) The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. {2} He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. {3} And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? {4} A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. {5} And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. {6} Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. {7} And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. {8} Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? {9} Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {10} Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {11} How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? {12} Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
(Matthew 17:12-23) But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. {13} Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. {14} And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, {15} Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. {16} And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. {17} Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. {18} And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. {19} Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? {20} And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. {21} Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. {22} And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: {23} And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
(Matthew 23:27-39) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. {29} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, {30} And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. {31} Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. {32} Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. {33} Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? {34} 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: {35} 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. {36} Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. {37} O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! {38} Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. {39} For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
(Matthew 24:34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
(Mark 8:11-12) And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. {12} And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
(Mark 8:31-38) And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. {32} And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. {33} But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. {34} And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. {35} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. {36} For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? {37} Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? {38} Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
(Mark 9:19) He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
(Mark 13:30) Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
(Luke 3:7-9) Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath about to come? {8} Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. {9} And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(Luke 7:31-35) And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? {32} They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. {33} For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. {34} The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! {35} But wisdom is justified of all her children.
(Luke 9:41) And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
(Luke 11:29-32) And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. {30} For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. {31} The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. {32} The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
(Luke 11:39-54) And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. {40} Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? {41} But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. {42} But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. {43} Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. {44} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. {45} Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. {46} And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. {47} Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. {48} Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. {49} Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: {50} That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; {51} From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. {52} Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. {53} And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: {54} Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. {12:1) In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
(Luke 17:25) But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
(Luke 21:32) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
(Acts 2:40) And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
The consistent preterist claims that there isn't a single verse of the New Testament which was intended by its author and understood by its original audience to be speaking of any discontinuous event thousands (or millions) of years in the future.
There are many verses which clearly speak of Christ coming in judgment against His enemies, and this coming is clearly timed as occurring before the generation that rejected Him dies out. This first-century coming is such a dominant theme in the New Testament Scriptures, that a sound application of the “grammatical-historical hermeneutic” would require any verse which is not clear about the timing of Christ's coming in judgment to be interpreted as fitting into that "default" pre-70AD time-frame. Some clear, explicit departure from that dominant context needs to appear in the text before one would conclude that that text breaks the mold and speaks not of an event in "that generation.," but of an event thousands or millions of years in the future.
Here are 101 verses speaking about "that generation."
1. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)
2. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Matthew 3:7)
3. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Matthew 3:10)
4. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Matthew 3:12)
5. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
6. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7)
7. “You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23)
8. “....the age about to come.” (Matthew 12:32)
9. “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26)
10. “Verily I say unto you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28; cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)
11. “‘When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ ‘....He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’ ‘....Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.’ ....When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.” (Matthew 21:40-41,43,45)
12. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34)
Prophecy:
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First-Century Fulfillment |
| Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikumene) for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. |
Romans 10:18 |
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Mark 13:10 |
Romans 16:25-26 |
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Mark 16:15 |
Colossians 1:5-6 |
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Mark 16:15 |
Colossians 1:23 |
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Acts 1:8 |
Romans 10:18 |
13. “Hereafter, you [Caiaphas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the whole Sanhedrin] shall be seeing the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69)
14. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)
15. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ....They [the chief priests, scribes and elders] understood that He spoke the parable against them.” (Mark 12:9,12)
16. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mark 13:30)
17. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Luke 3:7)
18. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. “ (Luke 3:9)
19. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Luke 3:17)
20. “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9)
21. “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Luke 10:11)
22. “What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” The scribes and the chief priests understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (Luke 20:15-16,19)
23. “These are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:22)
24. “This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Luke 21:32)
25. “Daughters of Jerusalem , stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:28-30; Compare Revelation 6:14-17)
26. “We were hoping that He was the One who is about to redeem Israel .” (Luke 24:21)
27. “I will come to you. In that Day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’ ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are about to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?’” (John 14:18,20,22)
28. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (John 21:22)
29. “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days’” (Acts 2:16 -17)
30. “He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31 )
31. “There is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (Acts 24:15)
32. “As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment about to come” (Acts 24:25)
33. “Not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written, that [faith] was reckoned to him [as righteousness], but for our sake also, to whom it is about to be reckoned.” ( Rom. 4:23-24)
34. “If you are living according to the flesh, you are about to die.” (Romans 8:13 )
35. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 )
36. “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” ( Romans 13:11-12)
37. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20 )
38. “The time has been shortened.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)
39. “The form of this world is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31)
40. “Now these things were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)
Bonus Verse: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 10:26) [See below]
41. “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
42. “Maranatha!” [The Lord comes!] (1 Corinthians 16:22)
43. “...not only in this age, but also in the one about to come.” (Ephesians 1:21)
44. “The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5)
45. “The gospel was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Colossians 1:23; Compare Matthew 24:14; Romans 10:18 ; 16:26 ; Colossians 1:5-6; 2 Timothy 4:17 ; Revelation 14:6-7; cf. I Clement 5,7)
46. “things which are a shadow of what is about to come.” (Colossians 2:16-17)
47. “we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15,17; 5:4)
48. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
49. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)
50. “Godliness holds promise for the present life and that which is about to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)
51. “I charge you that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 6:14)
52. “storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for that which is about to come, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (1 Timothy 6:19)
53. “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self Avoid these men. For of these are those who enter into households and captivate weak women These also oppose the truth But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all” (2 Timothy 3:1-2,5-6,8-9)
54. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1)
55. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
56. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14 )
57. “He did not subject to angels the world about to come.” (Hebrews 2:5)
58. “and have tasted the powers of the age about to come.” (Hebrews 6:5)
59. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near a curse, and it’s end is for burning.” (Hebrews 6:7-8)
60. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13)
61. “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places has not yet been revealed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.” (Hebrews 9:8-10; Compare Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13)
62. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 9:11 )
63. “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin.” (Hebrews 9:26)
64. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things about to come” (Hebrews 10:1)
65. “as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25)
66. “the fury of a fire which is about to consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:27)
67. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:37)
68. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is about to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)
69. “Speak and so act, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)
70. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:1,3)
71. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:7)
72. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)
73. “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5)
74. “He has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (1 Peter 1:20)
75. “They shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:5)
76. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7)
77. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” (1 Peter 4:17)
78. “as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is about to be revealed.” (1 Peter 5:1)
79. “We have the prophetic word which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)
80. “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)
81. “In the last days mockers will come. For this they willingly are ignorant of” (2 Peter 3:3,5)
82. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:10-12)
83. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8)
84. “The world is passing away, and its desires.” (1 John 2:17)
85. “It is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)
86. “Even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18; Compare Matthew 24:23-34)
87. “This is that of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (1 John 4:3; Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:7)
88. “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. About these also Enoch prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly’” (Jude 1:4,14-15)
89. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions” (Jude 1:17-19)
90. “to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 1:1)
91. “The time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)
92. “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Revelation 2:25)
93. “I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole land.” (Revelation 3:10; cf. Matthew 2:6,20,21)
94. “I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 3:11)
95. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” (Revelation 12:5)
96. “And in her [the Great City Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24; Compare Matthew 23:35-36; Luke 11:50-51)
97. “to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” (Revelation 22:6)
98. “Behold, I am coming quickly. “ (Revelation 22:7)
99. “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Revelation 22:10; Compare Daniel 8:26)
100. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:12)
101. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:20)
All of these verses concerned those who lived in the first century, not those who would live thousands of years later (though we can certainly learn some general principles from every verse of Scripture, even ones that weren't intended directly for us). The imminent destruction of the temple and judgment of those who rejected the Messiah is a dominant theme of the New Testament, and was a top priority in the minds of Christians in those days.
Thanks to David Green for putting together these verses.
He adds:
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There are clearly many verses in the New Testament which inescapably point to an event or events that would occur in the first century. Another question which might be raised is this: is there a single verse in the Bible which inescapably predicts an event that would occur in the 21st century or later, and can be interpreted in no other way?
There are two things at stake.
First is the trustworthiness of Scripture. Atheists have figured this out. Christian apologists need to deal with it. Here is the issue:
It is the pervasive teaching of the New Testament that Jesus was coming soon. On almost every page, we are told that Jesus would end the old age and begin the new before those who were His eye-witnesses were dead:
The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Matthew 16:27-28; cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)
New Testament readers were anticipating the end of the old and the beginning of "the New Heavens and the New Earth" (2 Peter 3). Incredible, miraculous, unprecedented things
Either they happened, or the New Testament writers (and those who believed them)
This is a very serious issue, and many atheists have recognized what's at stake.
Atheist Bertrand Russell, in his book Why I Am Not A Christian, discredits the inspiration of the New Testament based on the failed prediction of Christ and the Apostles:
I am concerned with Christ as He appears in the Gospels . . . and there one does find some things that do not seem to be very wise. For one thing, He certainly thought that His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at the time. There are a great many texts that prove that. He says, for instance, "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come." Then He says, "There are some standing here which shall not taste death till the Son of Man comes into His kingdom"; and there are a lot of places where it is quite clear that He believed that His second coming would happen during the lifetime of many then living. That was the belief of his earlier followers, and it was the basis of a good deal of his moral teaching. [1]
Russell is correct when he says that much of the New Testament was based on the belief that the Kingdom and end of the age were "at hand." If Christ and the Apostles were teaching the imminent destruction of planet earth and the inauguration of the "eternal state," then they were clearly mistaken.
There have been various responses by Christians to this criticism of the Christian faith. Among these, one is particularly striking. We get a profound impression of just what a challenge this argument is to the integrity of the Christian faith when we realize that a great Christian thinker and apologist such as C.S. Lewis despaired at finding a solution to it. Lewis surrendered to the assertion of the skeptics that Jesus was wrong. He attributed this to the limited knowledge Jesus had in His incarnate human form. He correctly pointed out that Jesus himself said, in Matthew 24:36, that He did not know the exact time when He would return:
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Lewis despairingly wrote,
“He said in so many words, 'this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.' And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else. This is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible."[2]
To this, the skeptic may reply, “If Jesus incorrectly predicted His return within the contemporaneous generation, but actually did not know that He was going to return within that time frame, then why did He so confidently assert that all of the words He had just spoken would come to pass in Matthew 24:35? He said, ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ ”
Recently, Christians like R.C. Sproul have suggested that most -- and maybe even all -- of these "any moment" verses were fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed and the age of the Old Covenant terminated. If this is true, then the Bible can be trusted. If not, then Christians need to come up with an answer for people like Bertrand Russell.
Read these verses. Read them in context in your own Bible if you think we're taking them out of context.
Get the big picture.
Take this issue seriously.
Admit that this is a question that needs to be answered.
Once this issue is dealt with, and we admit that the Scriptures were consistently preterist, then we need to ask how this fact changes the way we live out our lives. I suggest here that any claim that Jesus is not fully reigning and fulfilling "Messianic prophecies" in this age -- before any future "Second Coming" -- is "anti-Christ." I suggest here that preterism means our duty in this life is to build the City of God, the "New Jerusalem."
Preterism and Sacraments
I don't believe in "sacraments." These Old Testament rituals were dug up and mimicked by what we call "The Roman Catholic Church." Most Protestant churches are only partially-reformed Roman churches.
1 Corinthians 5
6 Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.Luke 22
13 And they went and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”1 Corinthians 10
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.Matthew 16
27 For the Son of Man is about come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
First-century Christians continued to observe Passover until Christ came in the power of His Kingdom, in the lifetime of those who witnessed His First Advent, to take vengeance against those Israelites who rejected Him as their Passover Lamb. Jesus the Death Angel did not pass over Israel in AD 70. The old Israel was destroyed as the new Egypt:
Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Jesus came in the power of a new Kingdom. The old kingdom -- the new Egypt -- was destroyed so that the New Israel -- God's Kingdom -- could be built.
"Sacraments" were a part of the Old Covenant, but not the New. John the Baptist was an Old Testament prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah and the New Covenant. Paul said he never baptized anyone (1 Corinthians 1:13-17). The Old Covenant and its sacraments were passing away (Hebrews 8:13).
Most Christians see the practice of their faith occurring for one hour in a "church" building on Sunday morning. I don't see the typical Sunday morning "worship service" in the pages of the New Testament. The most important aspects of our faith should be occurring the other six days of the week.
What is "the gospel?"
The word "Gospel" = "Good News"
The Greek word is εὐαγγέλιον, euangélion or
εὐαγγελίζω, euangelízō
eu = good
angelizō = bring a message,
from
ἄγγελος, ángelos, "angel," "messenger"
"Angel" is an interesting word:
Matthew 11:10
For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold,
I send my *messenger* [angelos] before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee.
John the Baptist was an "angel."
Matthew 24:31
And he shall send his *messengers* [angelos]
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.
Apostles and Evangelists were "angels."
2 Corinthians 12:7
And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the *messenger* [angelos] of Satan to buffet me,
lest I should be exalted above measure.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself
transforms himself into an angel of light.
[1] Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not A Christian (New York: A Touchtone Book by Simon & Schuster, 1957), 16.
[2]. Essay, "The World's Last Night" (1960), found in The Essential C.S. Lewis, p. 385. Lewis' views were pointed out by Marshall "Rusty" Entrekin. http://www.thingstocome.org/whatgen.htm
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