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..

Occam’s Razor: The Fool-Proof Test Of True Christianity

    Readers of this blog will probably already know that I pay little or no attention to speculative theology.  The issues that seem so important to philosophical punditry are reckoned by myself as mere “impedimenta” which prevent Christians from attaining dogmatic positivism in matters of religion.  Since I have learned in my studies that the pathway to truth is usually the easiest and most well-traversed road, I naturally wax suspicious of any person who seeks to make Christian doctrine uncessarily complex or tortuous.  In many sectors of the professing church, speculative theorizing has become so ingrained that self-styled “gatekeepers” (the scribes and Pharisees of today) deem discipleship incomplete until one has taken a course in philosophy.  For they well know that philosophy is necessary in order to explain away the plain meaning of God’s word.  But we prefer to heed Paul’s warnings to beware of such spoilation (Colossians 2: 8).  And we are not alone in our concern.  Real Christians (and there are lots of them) generally resent any tampering with the meaning of Scripture; insomuch that they’ll clap their ears to anyone who systematically denies what Christ and His inspired apostles set down as an authoritative and uncompromising rule of faith.  Call it bull-headed bigotry if you will.  I thank God for it every day I live..

Death Of Death In The Death Of Hyper-Preterism

     The glorious truth that Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross satisified the penalty of sin, which is physical death (Romans 6: 23), is a truth most hotly contested by Hyper-Preterists.  The H.P.’s reason that if these things are so, then there must be a future physical resurrection of the dead, else salvation would be incomplete.  Since Christ underwent death on our behalf, there is no need for Christians to die.  Therefore, we are to “expect” His second advent.  If we should fall asleep in Christ before He returns, we shall be physically raised from the dead; for this is a provision of the “everlasting covenant” (Acts 13: 34; cf. Isaiah 55: 3).  Due to their aversion to the basic Gospel, H.P.’s invent all kinds of weird ploys to get around these truths, even arguing that the “real man” does not include the body (see below for refutation).  When  it comes to the doctrine of the second advent, Hyper-Preterists spiritualize the plain language of Scripture, denying there will be any future physical return of Christ, since according to their minds Christ divested Himself of His body (the same body that bore our sins on the cross) when He ascended on high (source).  But is all this enough heresy for Hyper-Preterists?  No, not by a long shot!

Why The Truth Doesn’t Matter To Hyper-Preterists

     Although Hyper-Preterists will kick and scream against the notion that their “movement” is dying, anyone who is a keen observer will see that our conclusion is right on the money.  Due to the incessant infighting among Hyper-Preterists regarding the fundamentals of their  faith, the Hyper-Preterist community has fragmented more and more during the past three years, to the point where the community is now in the sickest state its ever been.  In previous articles, I’ve written about the reluctance of H.P. leaders to publicly censure Sam Frost on his teaching that human history will ultimately come to a close.  As I’ve thought more about the issue, I’ve figured out precisely why leaders are willing to compromise on such a major point.. 

Giving Hymeneans Something To Cry About

     As one whose ministry deals mainly in refuting preterist theology, I often receive emails from people who have questions regarding Preterism or Hyper-Preterism.  Of course, I also get a deal of hate-mail, which I generally ignore.  But occasionally I receive an email asking for my “prognosis” regarding a case of hardboiled H.P.   Just yesterday, a guy wrote me to say that his friend of 16 years has ventured down the path of Hyper-Preterism, and now refuses to listen to reason, or the the plain unvarnished testimony of Scripture.  His question was whether there are any arguments that could convince his pal that Hyper-Preterism is wrong.

  I wrote back to say that although I didn’t want to be a harbinger of despair, it is a fact that once someone embraces H.P. the chances of his snapping out of it are slim indeed.  If ever someone walks away from Hyper-Preterism, it will be the grace of God that changes his heart  —   and not any mere polemical argument.  However, for the record I stated what I felt to be the single most impressive argument against Hyper-Preterist theology.  That argument is one I have fielded several times in the past, and is so is important that it impacts the very meaning of the Gospel message..

How Hyper-Preterists Lost The Ball

    Anyone who takes a good close look at the Hyper-Preterist movement and compares it to how it used to be, will not fail to notice that Hyper-Preterism is in the worse shape it’s ever been.  I’m not just talking about the doctrinal controversies that are raging all around.  That’s only part of the issue.  I’m primarily talking about the entire lack of organization that has caused H.P.’s to spin farther and farther into the vortex of relativism and compromise, so that even the leaders of H.P. are reluctant to speak out against those who are destroying the movement with their newfangled teachings.

  Since Hyper-Preterism poses as a “movement” seeking to gain entrance into mainstream Christianity, it MUST have an organized leadership.  That would result in some kind of solidarity, even of a superficial nature.  And yet this is precisely what it lacks.  As I’ve stated often before, Hyper-Preterism’s refusal to consolidate some basic leadership structure, has been its ultimate undoing.  Now as the movement disintegrates into a hodge-podge of battling sects, H.P. enthusiasts become more and more wabbly on the parameters of the faith, so that doctrines that were previously taught with absolute certitude are now seen as “non-essential” to maintaining fellowship among Hyper-Preterists..

Mike Loomis’s Petulant Plot

     As we daily expose the diverse and ever-changing facets of the Hyper-Preterist movement, we are often asked why we treat the teachers and proponents of H.P. so harshly.  I mean, shouldn’t we be more “loving” and empathetic toward those who are caught up in this heresy?  In giving our defense, it is important to point out that there is a major difference between someone who is just following Hyper-Preterist theology because he/she thinks it is true, and one who has given up everything to dedicate his/her life to promoting and defending the movement.  Once a person crosses that line and assumes a leadership position, he/she must be dealt with on different principles.  At that point our focus is no longer to “convince” (as in the case of a mere follower), but to expose and discredit the false teacher..

How To Spill A Can Of Beans

       As the Hyper-Preterist movement rapidly degenerates into a coterie of battling sects, readers may be asking how H.P.’s propose to keep their community on life-support long enough to get Hyper-Preterism flotillaed into the mainstream.  As mentioned in one of my recent articles, Sam Frost, token scholar of the H.P. movement, made an important revelation on March 28th, 2010.  He hinted that allegations that Hyper-Preterism is a fractured movement will soon be taken away, since a “remedy” is now in progress (source).  Sam also assured me the other day that this “behind the scenes remedy” is being worked out by key H.P.’s ranging from Dave Green to Ed Stevens (source).  Ok, so the public is supposed to remain breathless while it waits for Hyper-Preterism to unveil the bomb that will finally destroy 2,000 years of Christian teaching and leave H.P.’s in control of the floor, right?  Well, it appears the “secret” is not so undercover as Sam thinks.  Due to Hyper-Preterism’s screwy publicity work, Preterist News is now able to yank the curtains aside and show readers what Hyper-Preterism’s “secret solution” entails!