The End… Or A New Beginning?

Well, it’s been awhile since I posted here.  Although I don’t usually write about myself (for my ministry isn’t about “me,” it’s about “Him”), I think a few words of explanation are in order as to what’s going on with ‘me’ at this time.  For folks who like it short and sweet, this is my last post at Preterist News. The reason?  Basically, I’m through dealing with Preterism and Hyper-Preterism.  I’ll explain in a moment.  However, permit me to say this was not a choice that I made in the span of the last few days, or the last week, or even the past few months.  It’s the final step in a series of decisions that started last year, when I began to realize the importance of maintaining an “absolutist” approach to Christian doctrine..

OK, in retrospect, here’s how it all played out.  Last year, I stopped interacting at dicussion forums, and decided to concentrate my efforts on writing  —  choosing to be more of a “monologue apologist” than an actual “debater.”  Then somewhat later I came to the conclusion that the present apostasy of the professing church (yes, Christendom is a real mess right now) is due largely to relativism and philosophy; and so I began locking down the hatches of my orthodoxy.  About a month ago I stopped monitoring Preterist websites and blogs, and instead turned my attention toward the pure, unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This has taken more and more of my ever-dwindling free time, to the point where I’ve lost 95% of all interest in Preterism and Hyper-Preterism.  It just isn’t there anymore.

Mind, it’s not that I don’t think error is worth fighting any more.  It’s simply that, if the truths of Christianity can be “known” at all, then there can be no excuse for not accepting them.  And if there’s no excuse for not accepting them, then there’s no need for any “debate.”

Plus, believe it or not, in all of my studies I have never found the slightest Biblical sanction that would justify the church in putting all of its evangelistic efforts on hold in order to bicker over the meaning of prophetic texts  —  which is essentially what Preterists are after.  Look, if someone really believes that Christ returned (figuratively or literally) in A.D. 70, and that 95% of the Book of Revelation is past fulfillment; that Christians missed the boat for the past 2,000 years, and that the Great Commission no longer entails teaching the nations to observe “all things” that Christ commanded (Matthew 28: 20), but now means (post-A.D. 70) “applying the Bible to all of life” (see here); then I would say that person has a right to believe what he or she wants.  As a Baptist, I stand for the principle of “liberty of conscience.”  And besides that, it’s a free country.  However, Christians who have been instructed to accept apostolic doctrine as absolute and final, are under zero obligation to put their beliefs on the shelf for months on end while they haggle over texts with people who merely want to turn them on to something new so they can further their socio-political agendas, or orchestrate some gimcrack utopia.

Besides, when we allow a truth to be debated, aren’t we really making a tacit admission that the proposition under question is not as “absolute” as we’d like it to be?  I mean, in order to enable any kind of debate to take place, both parties must concede that the subject is debatable to begin with.  And frankly, I don’t buy that mentality.  At least not anymore.  As I continued reflecting on these things, I came to the conclusion that to be honest with the Scriptures, one would have to maintain that there’s only one orthodox view of any given doctrine.  And to allow that orthodoxy to be questioned, or to lend oneself to the concept that it is questionable, would be, in essence, a form of compromise.  If relativism is really weakening the church, then the only solution is to return to absolutism, which pretty much equates with Fundamentalism.  Ah! there’s the dirty word.  But that’s what true Christianity has been from the get-go… hasn’t it?

So, yes, I believe there is only one “orthodox” view of eschatology, and that it is Pre-Millennial Futurism. I offer no apologies for this.  My business is not to debate that view, but to teach it as best I can, in all sincerity, and without “corrupting the word of God” (see 2 Cor. 2: 17).  When I maintain my stance on this issue, I don’t speak from lack of experience either.  As one who has, at some point or another, embraced just about every eschatological view there is, I finally figured out that the only doctrine that ever did anyone any good in this world is that which comes straight out of the Bible  —   plus nothing and minus nothing.  Preach it just as Christ and His apostles preached it, or don’t preach it at all.  And I’ll affirm this, too: that the only doctrine that ever saved souls is that which neither adds to nor subtracts from the Scriptures.  Any other doctrine will always qualify as heresy, no matter who preaches it from the pulpit, how respectable he looks, what his credentials, etc.  God is no respector of persons.

So, those are the idealogical reasons for my recent decline in posting, and now my complete removal from the whole debate scene as it concerns Preterism and Hyper-Preterism.  I will no longer be keeping up with the developments within Preterism, nor will I be commenting any more on these issues. Incidentally, I still plan on writing material for my other blog.  But articles will no longer be keyed to address Preterist arguments.  Instead, they’ll deal with the direct presentation of Biblical and prophetic truth, on issues that are relevant to modern Christianity.  I’ll write as I have leisure, for there are serious matters in my personal life that require my undivided attention right now; and besides that, I’ve got to make a living just like everyone else.  As for this present blog, I’m going to see if there’s a way I can hand it over to Roderick Edwards (my co-admin) without all my posts getting deleted, since I don’t want to have all the time I’ve put into this go for nothing.  Which means that obviously, the main proviso of me giving up my administrative privileges at this blog, would be that none of my posts get deleted. I’ll be contacting Roderick within the next day or so to discuss this with him.

In writing this post, I’ve also considered whether I should give any sort of “final message” to the Preterist community.  I guess one can’t hurt.  My final message, then, is to repeat the words of Christ, who instructed His church through Peter, James, John, and Andrew to  “take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24: 4).  There is a lot of deception abroad in Christianity concerning the second advent of our Lord; and not merely among Preterists, but Futurists as well.  If I were to list the two main elements of genuine Christianity which are missing from conventional pulpits, I would say they are — 1): the doctrine of an impending Divine judgment that is to be worldwide in its scope; and 2): the doctrine that all Christians have a responsibility to take up the cross daily and follow Christ.  I know these doctrines aren’t popular.  However, if the effort of Christian leaders and pulpiteers to make Christian doctrine “popular” has led to the wholesale obscuration of vital truth, then the only recourse is to repent and return unfaltering to the genuine, original Christianity of the early centuries.

As millions of others have learned throughout the past 2,000 years, there is no “easy” way of being a disciple of Christ.  Our cushy western society has insulated us to the fact that in other areas of the world, people are dying, even being tortured to death, for their faith in Christ.  My question for all readers of this post is this.  Whatever you believe regarding eschatology (and that’s a personal matter between you and your Maker), is your faith worth dying for?  If not, then you’d better do some soul-searching, and make the necessary adjustments to your creed, because I reckon the time is coming when it will be no “easy” matter to profess Christ.  Those who shuttle all the so-called “negative sanctions” of Scripture into the far-distant first century are in many ways as culpable as others who expect some miraculous, any-moment deliverance out of this world before the hour of sifting begins.  Well, God has a funny way of turning wise men into fools at the very moment when truth reaches its highest premium.  The time to “repent and do the first works” (Rev. 2: 5) is not later, but now.  And BTW, God knows that I need this message just as much as anyone else!  So, as I ride into the sunset, I commend these things to your consideration, and also ask (if there be any charity left by this point) that you wish me well in my journey; for there can be no rancor among the disciples of our Lord.  Arrivederci!