QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

This is a growing list of frequently, and not so frequently, asked questions about preterism and related issues. Following each question is a humble attempt at an answer. There are now 112 questions and answers.

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1. QUESTION 1: God gave the Old Testament Church detailed worship guidelines (Deuteronomy and Leviticus), but in the preterist view, the Kingdom is now fulfilled spiritually, and the New Testament does not give many specific guidelines as to what "the sons of the Kingdom" are supposed to do in their worship. Doesn't preterism thus put the Church in a kind of "limbo" state? ANSWER

2. QUESTION 2: If a preterist believes that the Old Testament law is no longer binding, then how is he different than the dispensationalist when dealing with ethics? ANSWER

3. QUESTION 3:Calvinists deny that obedience is necessary for salvation. Doesn't the Bible contradict that notion? ANSWER

4. QUESTION 4: Do you believe that all the graves of saints are already empty? ANSWER

5. QUESTION 5: If the resurrection and destruction of the ungodly has happened, then who would have been left to preach and repopulate the earth? ANSWER

6. QUESTION 6: Revelation 21:22-24 says that there is no temple in the New Jerusalem, because God and the Lamb are its Temple. If the New Jerusalem is the Church and if the Church is the temple of God, how can it be that there is no temple in the City? ANSWER

7. QUESTION 7: Was anyone regenerated in the Old Testament? ANSWER

8. QUESTION 8: Doesn't Romans eleven teach that Yahweh still has a definite plan for Israel, whom He loves with an irrevocable love? ANSWER

9. QUESTION 9: If preterists believe that the Great Commission is already fulfilled, then it seems that they have no reason or basis to "make disciples of all nations." Isn't preterism thus anti-evangelical? ANSWER

10. QUESTION 10: What about people who have died who have never heard the name of Christ, the only name by which you can be saved, and people who just don't understand the gospel. How do the preterists see these things? ANSWER

11. QUESTION 11: Can you possibly deny that preterism is anti-semitic? ANSWER

12. QUESTION 12:From a preterist perspective how are we to understand Romans 11:28-29? "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." ANSWER

13. QUESTION 13: Is God not concerned with the evil in the world like famine, wars, disease, environmental damage, etc.? Preterism teaches that the Kingdom is already here in its fullness. So this is the fulfillment? Why would God create a world that will never be rid of sin and suffering? Optimists say that this is the best of all possible worlds. Some futurists say that this is the best way of becoming the best of all possible worlds --which I find tenable through the eyes of faith. What do preterists say about the world? Will injustice and suffering go on forever? ANSWER

14. QUESTION 14: The Old Covenant (the law) passed away and the New Covenant (covenant of Grace) was established. Since the Old Covenant was the Law, doesn't that prove that we are not bound to the law in any way, shape or form because the law no longer exists today? ANSWER

15. QUESTION 15: Acts 1:11 says that Jesus is going to come back in the SAME manner He left. My Bible says He left visibly and physically. You, on the other hand, say He will not come back in the flesh. How do you defend yourself against Acts 1:11, a verse that is an obvious contradiction of preterism? ANSWER

16. QUESTION 16: The Bible says that because Christ is in us, we have "the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). In other words, because Christ is in me today, I can look forward to "the blessed hope" that I will one day be like Jesus. Preterists on the other hand say our hope is already fulfilled. How do preterists explain Col. 1:27? ANSWER

17. QUESTION 17: I agree that the "Parousia" spoken of so often in the New Testament took place in A. D. 70 (I can't get around the time statements.), but why can't the Parousia that took place in the first century be a "type" of a future, greater Parousia? ANSWER

18. QUESTION 18: The New Testament tells believers not to be in bondage to "the elements" of the world (Gal. 4:3,9; Col. 2:8,28). Then in II Peter 3:3,10,12, it says that "the elements" were going to be destroyed in the end of the Last Days. As preterists, we know that the Greek word for elements (stoikion) means "principles" or "laws." We also know as preterists that "the elements" were destroyed in A. D. 70. Doesn't this prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that in A. D. 70 the principles of the law of Moses were destroyed? Doesn't this mean that now we are not bound to obey the book we call "the Old Testament?" Aren't we bound now only to obey the certain commandments in "the New Testament" that apply to this age? ANSWER

19. QUESTION 19: The Bible promises curses for disobedience in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Yet you say that our salvation in the New Testament age is totally unconditional. How can our salvation be absolutely unconditional if God promises us throughout His word that liars, murders, etc. cannot inherit the Kingdom? Also, we are told to disfellowship brothers who are in sin. Obviously, life in the Kingdom today is conditional. If we want to enter the Kingdom, then we have to not practice sin. That is a "condition." Repentance is necessary. Can you possibly deny this? ANSWER

20. QUESTION 20: Preterist say that "the creation" of Romans 8:21 which will be "set free" was the old covenant people (God's "covenant creation"). Don't preterists thus show a disdain for the physical creation by spiritualizing what scripture says about it? ANSWER

21. QUESTION 21: Is hell, according to the full preterist, a place of only spiritual torment for the non-believer, or is there a physical and bodily torment involved as well? ANSWER

22. QUESTION 22: How does the Bar Kokhba rebellion of A. D. 132-135 relate to your understanding of the Eschaton. ANSWER

23. QUESTION 23: Didn't Paul say that making Gentiles conform to the Old Testament law is legalism? ANSWER

24. QUESTION 24: Doesn’t II Tim. 2:17-18 disprove preterism? Aren't preterists obviously teaching the heresy of Hymeneus who taught that, "The resurrection is past already" (I Tim. 1:20; II Tim. 2:17-18)? ANSWER

25. QUESTION 25: In Acts 6:14, Stephen was accused of saying that Jesus would "destroy this place" (the Temple) and change the customs of Moses. During his defense (Acts 7:2-53), Stephen didn't appear to directly answer the accusations. Did his silence imply that he had in fact been teaching the soon destruction of "this place?" ANSWER

26. QUESTION 26: What relationship does preterism have to the doctrine of the Deity of Christ? ANSWER

27. QUESTION 27: The Parable of the Pounds / Minas in Lk. 19:12-27 says that at the Second Coming of Christ, the saints will be given authority over "cities." Some will rule over ten. Others will rule over five, etc. In preterism, the saints must be currently ruling cities. Then which ones?? Can you give me one city today that is ruled by a saint? ANSWER

28. QUESTION 28: I have a real problem when things are not congruent. God in the Old Testament has the Iraelites killing every man, woman, and child (in some instances). How do you reconcile the Old Testament carnage with the God of the New Testament who pursues us with such tremendous love? ANSWER

29. QUESTION 29: I realize you feel strongly about the traditional, orthodox "Trinity" doctrine, but we have to keep in mind that this subject is a phenomenon of 4th century political debate, and not of any concern to the apostles or their Jewish detractors. Can you show me one place in Scripture where we find the apostles trying to convince anyone of the "Deity of Christ?" I didn't think so. ANSWER

30. QUESTION 30: Paul rebuked the Corinthians for acting as if they had already begun to reign. The text is clear that he thought neither he nor they had begun to reign. Yet preterism says that Christians were already reigning, for forty or so years from cross to judgement? How do you explain I Cor. 4:8ff? ANSWER

31. QUESTION 31: The "old-covenant" world included works-religions other than Judaism. If God's judged the whole world in A.D. 70, why were those religious institutions not destroyed the same way Jerusalem was? ANSWER

32. QUESTION 32: In Acts, when talking to the gentiles, Paul talks about a day when God will judge all nations. (Acts 17:30-31) How is the fall of Jerusalem seen as a judgment on all nations, Jew and gentile? ANSWER

33. QUESTION 33: I have heard some preterists out there say that the "preterist hermeneutic" demands a ruthless reassessment of all Orthodoxy. They say if the church was wrong about the Parousia, how can we be sure it was not wrong about many other things, or even every other thing? On this basis, these preterists teach other people to question or even reject the doctrine of the Trinity. They say they are in the "demolition business." Does the preterist movement have any kind of "defense mechanism" or "restraint" against people like this? ANSWER

34. QUESTION 34: Preterists admit that Christ ascended in a literal "cloud." They use that "cloud" as the reference point for His return "in like manner," "with the clouds." But preterists take the "clouds" of Christ's return to be metaphorical and apocalyptic "clouds." In other words, preterists say Jesus entered heaven in a literal cloud, and then say His return was "in like manner" because He returned in figurative clouds! Isn't this blatantly dishonest? Isn't it a form of exegetical equivocation / sleight of hand? ANSWER

35. QUESTION 35: Daniel and Revelation both prophesy God's judgment on the Roman Empire. Doesn't that skew the whole "in this generation" interpretation of all prophecy, since Rome fell in A.D. 455? ANSWER

36. QUESTION 36: Rome conquered God's people in A.D. 70. Wasn't this a victory for the Beast? A victory that has not been reversed even to this day, thus proving that the book of Revelation was not fulfilled in A.D. 70? ANSWER

37. QUESTION 37: I assume that you do not believe in "soul sleep" such as the JW's. So since the soul is not asleep but rather it is at "Abraham's bosom" and since you do not believe in a physical resurrection of any sort for believers, what was "sleeping" in the verses which speak of "sleeping?" "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." (I Thess. 4:14) ANSWER

38. QUESTION 38: Didn't Jesus say, "I am with you always, until the end of the age?" But since the age has ended, then He is no longer with us. God is our only Lord. Wouldn't this follow? ANSWER

39. QUESTION 39: If Christ gave up the Kingdom to God the Father in A.D. 70, then why is Christ still reigning? Shouldn't He no longer be reigning if He gave up the Kingdom? What in your view does giving up the Kingdom entail? And if this happened in A.D. 70, then what was different in A.D. 30-70? ANSWER

40. QUESTION 40: Ken Gentry has said repeatedly throughout his writings that Nero's persecution of the Church lasted 3 1/2 years, and that this persecution fulfilled Rev. 13:5-7, where the beast (Nero/Rome) made war on the saints for "forty-two months" (3 1/2 years). Here is my question: Where is Nero's 3-1/2-year persecution of the Church recorded in history? I can't find it anywhere. ANSWER

41. QUESTION 41: I have read in different places that the siege of Jerusalem lasted 3 1/2 years, in fulfillment of Rev. 11:2? Is this true? If so, where can I find this 3-1/2-year period recorded in history? ANSWER

42. QUESTION 42: Do preterist believe that Jesus Christ will ever return here to earth? Do they believe there will be the end of the world? ANSWER

43. QUESTION 43: When did the seven years of tribulation take place? ANSWER

44. QUESTION 44: I would like to know since Jesus has already returned then what happens to us when we die? For I was raised thinking that we are waiting on Jesus to come back for his people. ANSWER

45. QUESTION 45: According to preterists, who are the two witnesses? Please be more specific than answers I have received in the past. ANSWER

46. QUESTION 46: It's universally held that the Apostle John lived to a very old age. Why isn't there anything from him through Polycarp or any other early Christians regarding the Second Coming? ANSWER

47. QUESTION 47: Did the angels gather the elect already? (Matt. 24:31) And was this referring to believers that had died? ANSWER

48. QUESTION 48: Should the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Lk. 16:19-31) be taken at face value as the story of a man who died and suffered torments in Hades? Or is it an allegory? I ask this because I've seen preterists say that this story had nothing to do with what happened under the old covenant when people died, but that it was only symbolic of the Judgment in A.D. 70. ANSWER

49. QUESTION 49: If Jesus has already returned then why is it that it seems as though the world is going in the direction of a one world government? ANSWER

50. QUESTION 50: I heard a preterist author say that Jesus did not possess all the attributes of omniscience because of what Luke 2:52 says about Jesus increasing in wisdom. He also relates this to the fact that Jesus did not know the time of His return in Matthew 24:36. Does this mean He didn't have total omniscience? That statement kind of bothered me a little. If Jesus is fully God and fully man, how can anyone say He didn't have total omniscience? ANSWER

51. QUESTION 51: How would you explain the Great White Throne Judgment and the Judgment Seat of Christ from the preterist perspective? When do these judgments take place? ANSWER

52. QUESTION 52: How do we reconcile Romans with James? Are we "justified by faith apart from works?" (Rom. 3:28; 4:6) Or are we "justified by works, and not by faith alone?" (Jms. 2:24) This seems somewhat confusing and contradictory to me. Any help here would be much appreciated. ANSWER

53. QUESTION 53: Why is preterism so popular among the "Reformed?" ANSWER

54. QUESTION 54: Doesn't the existence of sin and of God's enemies on Earth show that we are in a worse state today than before the Fall? ANSWER

55. QUESTION 55: I believe that Jesus is God, the Son, the Messiah. I believe we are saved by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus, and not through any works. However, I sometimes find myself doubting my own salvation. How can I know if I'm one of the elect and really saved? ANSWER

56. QUESTION 56: A preterist recently wrote that futurism is an error that "cuts at the heart of the Gospel." Do you agree with that statement? If so, why do you still consider futurists to be Christian brothers? ANSWER

57. QUESTION 57: What do you think about Matt. 27:52-53? It says that "many bodies of the saints" were raised, and they came out of their graves after the resurrection of Jesus. Were they raised with glorified bodies? ANSWER

58. QUESTION 58: The Bible clearly says that if we are under ANY part of the Law, then we are under ALL of the Law in its entirety, and are thus in bondage. As a preterist, you know that the old covenant (the Law) VANISHED in 70. Yet in your Q&A's #2, 14, 18, and 23, you actually say that we are still under SOME of the laws of Moses (i.e., the so-called "non-shadow / non-fleshly" laws). According to the Bible, by making PARTS of the old covenant binding today, you are putting Christians back under ALL of the Law. It's all or nothing. How do you answer? ANSWER

59. QUESTION 59: Are Isa. 66:8 and Matt. 21:43 prophetic references to the events that happened on the day of Pentecost? Are there any more references to the Church being the "nation" of God? ANSWER

60. QUESTION 60: What do you do with Job 19:26 where it speaks of a fleshly resurrection? ANSWER

61. QUESTION 61: How do you interpret Matt. 5:17-20? ANSWER

62. QUESTION 62: In Revelation it says that, "God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." How is this fulfilled? ANSWER

63. QUESTION 63: In your article New Covenant Salvation, you said that we are saved by grace "through faith." My question is this: Is "faith" something that man can attain, grasp or acquire through his own effort? Can man decide of his own volition to believe God? If so, then doesn't this mean that salvation is contingent upon man's effort? If grace is dependent upon our first meeting "the obedience of faith," (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) then isn't salvation actually conditioned upon obedience, and therefore not really received "by grace?" ANSWER

64. QUESTION 64: Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, wrote in his work Against Heresies (c. 180-190) that the Apostle John saw the Revelation "toward the end of the reign of Domitian." (Against Heresies 5:30:3) Domitian's reign ended in A.D. 96. Thus Irenaeus dated the book of Revelation at about A.D. 95. My question is this: How do preterists get around this external evidence for the late date of Revelation, and what external evidence do preterists have that suggests that the book of Revelation was written before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70? ANSWER

65. QUESTION 65: You have said that the Law is engraved on believers' hearts and minds, since we are under the New Covenant. (Heb. 8:10-13) Does this mean we still follow the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbaths? ANSWER

66. QUESTION 66: How do preterists explain I Thess. 4:13-17? (the "Rapture") ANSWER

67. QUESTION 67: Jesus told His disciples that He would come again and receive them to Himself, that where He is (i.e., in Heaven) they would be also. How has this been fulfilled? This sounds to me like a literal "rapture" off the planet into Heavenly glory. ANSWER

68. QUESTION 68: In May of 2002, an article was published that teaches that the entire Church of true believers was literally and physically "raptured" (removed) from planet Earth in the first century. The article says that this is what J. Stuart Russell taught a hundred years ago in his book The Parousia. Is this really what Russell taught? ANSWER

69. QUESTION 69: Isaiah 66:8 says, "Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Isn't it obvious even for a preterist that this verse was fulfilled in 1948 when Israel was reborn as a nation "in one day," on May 5th? ANSWER

70. QUESTION 70: Where in Scripture is it taught that "death" means "separation from God?" ANSWER

71. QUESTION 71: According to Heb. 12:26-27, Hag. 2:6 was not yet fulfilled when the book of Hebrews was written. Yet God said that Haggai 2:6 would be fulfilled "in a little while." That was over 500 years before the book of Hebrews was written! Doesn't this prove that "a little while" can mean over 500 years, and that it could conceivable even mean "2,000 years?" Doesn't this prove therefore that we need not interpret the eschatological "imminency statements" in the New Testament literally? ANSWER

72. QUESTION 72: Please explain Romans 9:15-24. Do we have a will? ANSWER

73. QUESTION 73: A human being is a body AND a soul AND a spirit. Preterists say that the Church will never be raised from physical death. Ergo, preterism clearly teaches that dead believers are disembodied spirits forever and ever. They are no longer truly human. What's your defense against this? ANSWER

74. QUESTION 74: The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians is possibly the earliest uninspired, orthodox Christian work in existence. When was it written? And what is its eschatological message? ANSWER

75. QUESTION 75: What do preterists believe about the Lord's Supper? Do they still practice it today, or do they think it was abolished in A.D. 70? ANSWER

76. QUESTION 76: If Christ returned in A.D. 70, does that now relegate the Holy Spirit to a non-functional role? ANSWER

77. QUESTION 77: The prophets predicted peace in the Kingdom after the coming of the Messiah. If the Messiah has come, and if the Church is the Kingdom, then why has the Church been fragmented and divided for centuries? Fragmentation and division is not "peace." Something is very wrong here, wouldn't you say? ANSWER

78. QUESTION 78: How do you interpret Daniel 7 (specifically, the little horn; and the ten kings, three of which were uprooted) and Rev. 17:10-11 (the seven kings, five fallen, one is, the other is not yet, and the Beast is an eighth)? ANSWER

79. QUESTION 79: What is "the creation" in Rom. 8:19-22? In what sense was it "subjected to vanity?" How was it suffering "the pains of childbirth?" And what does it mean that it was "set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God?" ANSWER

80. QUESTION 80: Doesn't Zechariah 14:4-5 plainly teach that Jesus will come back and stand on the Mount of Olives and cause it to be split in two? How can preterists possibly spiritualize that away and claim that it was fulfilled in the first century? ANSWER

81. QUESTION 81: God tells us in Isa. 65:20 that there will come a time when there will be no more infant deaths, a time when a hundred years old will be considered young. Obviously, Isaiah was talking about a time in our future (the Millennium) when people will have longer life spans than we have now. As a preterist, how do you get around the plain and obvious teaching of Isa. 65:20? ANSWER

82. QUESTION 82: When was Matt. 23:39 fulfilled? ANSWER

83. QUESTION 83: Eph. 4:11-13 says that the gifts of "apostles," "prophets," "evangelists," "pastors" and "teachers" were given to believers "until" the Church reached maturity. If that Scripture was fulfilled in A.D. 70 does this mean that "evangelists," "pastors" and "teachers" existed only "until" A.D. 70 and that they no longer exist today? ANSWER

84. QUESTION 84: The historic Church told us which books belong in the New Testament. Therefore, the only way we can be 100% certain that we have the true words of God in the New Testament is to believe in the infallibility of the Church, because if the Church is fallible then it would be possible that the Church made a mistake and put uninspired books in the New Testament. How can you avoid this logic? ANSWER

85. QUESTION 85: In your Q&A #84 you said that one reason that we can be "SURE" that the post-apostolic Church chose only God-breathed books for the "New-Testament" canon is that "the Church hears only the Lord's voice, and will not hear another (Jn. 10:5,27)." Aren't you in essence saying that the Church "hears infallibly?" ANSWER

86. QUESTION 86: Assuming that the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats was fulfilled in A.D. 70, my question is how was it fulfilled? Was it fulfilled symbolically on Earth, or was it fulfilled in Heaven? ANSWER

87. QUESTION 87: Do preterists believe that certain gifts were for the 1st century church only and have since ceased? ANSWER

88. QUESTION 88: The Bible says that one would be taken and one would be left. This is obviously talking about the Rapture. How was this prophecy fulfilled? ANSWER

89. QUESTION 89: How do you interpret the "thousand years" of Rev. 20? Assuming you believe the Millennium was fulfilled in A.D. 70 (as most other preterists today seem to believe), how do you exegetically justify spiritualizing away a "thousand years" to mean merely a literal 40 years? ANSWER

90. QUESTION 90: In Heb. 11:5, it says that Enoch "did not see death." But then in Heb. 11:4-13, it says that Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Sarah "all died in faith." See the apparent contradiction? Also, Heb. 9:27 says that "it is appointed for men to die once." (Heb. 9:27) Which is it? Did Enoch not see death? (Heb. 11:5) Or did he die "once" (Heb. 9:27) / die "in faith"? (Heb. 11:13) ANSWER

91. QUESTION 91: I recently read in a preterist article that since believers are citizens of a heavenly Kingdom (Christ's Kingdom is "not of this world."), and since no outward law can change people's hearts (Only Christ can change the heart.), it therefore follows that God has not called the Church to be involved in enacting worldly laws (We should only pray and preach the Gospel.), and that the Church also should not pledge allegiance to a worldly government (We should pledge allegiance to Christ and His Kingdom alone.). Do you agree with those arguments from that preterist author? ANSWER

92. QUESTION 92: Luke 21:24 seems to say that FIRST, the Jews would be "led captive into all the nations" (in A.D. 70), and THEN, Jerusalem would be "trampled under foot by the Gentiles" (until 1948? until our future?) What exactly are "the times of the Gentiles?" When did those "times" begin and when will they (or did they) end? ANSWER

93. QUESTION 93: In I Cor. 15:1-19, Paul said that some at the church in Corinth were saying, "There is no resurrection of the dead." Were those resurrection deniers saying that it was unbelieveable that decomposed, dead bodies could be raised back to life? Were they annihilationists? Or did they believe in "bodiless soul-immortality?" ANSWER

94. QUESTION 94: Why is death considered to be an enemy and how can it be destroyed, if it is the only gate of blessedness? (1 Cor. 15:26) ANSWER

95. QUESTION 95: Jesus said that "not one stone" of Jerusalem or of the temple would be left upon another. (Matt. 24:2; Mk. 13:2; Lk. 19:44; 21:6) But even preterists know that the Wailing Wall still stands in Jerusalem to this very day. So it goes without saying that Matthew 24 was NOT fulfilled in A.D. 70, and that Matthew 24 remains unfulfilled as long as the Wailing Wall stands intact, stones and all. Okay, how are you going to spiritualize this one away? ANSWER

96. QUESTION 96: How do you interpret Daniel's "Seventy Weeks?" ANSWER

97. QUESTION 97: You said that the "seventy weeks" lasted about 600 years. But doesn't "seventy weeks" mean "seventy weeks of years," that is, 490 years? ANSWER

98. QUESTION 98: Do you believe in "replacement theology?" Was Israel replaced by the Church? Since the Jews are no longer God's chosen people, does that indicate that Jews are an accursed race because of what they did to Christ? ANSWER

99. QUESTION 99: Matt. 24:14 and several other scriptures reveal that Christ came again after the Gospel was preached in the whole "world." Yet Matt. 10:23 says that Christ came again before all the cities of Israel were covered. How do we reconcile Christ's statement in Matt. 10:23 with His statement in Matt. 24:14? ANSWER

100. QUESTION 100: Jesus said, in Matt. 22:30; Mk. 12:25; Lk. 20:34-36, that in the age to come there would be no more marriage. I've heard preterists explain this by saying that ever since A.D. 70, there has been no more marriage in a spiritual sense. They point out that now the children of the covenant are spiritual only, and that there is also "neither male nor female" today. (Gal. 3:28) Do you agree with that interpretation? ANSWER

101. QUESTION 101: Jesus said that if you call your brother "fool," you will be liable to be thrown into the fire of Gehenna. Does this mean that the word "fool" is a taboo word that can bring damnation if we utter it? ANSWER

102. QUESTION 102: Hebrews 9:8-10 plainly tells us that when Hebrews was written in about A.D. 65, the temple already no longer had a "standing" in God's sight, and that the animal sacrifices of Moses were already no longer "imposed." Yet preterists boldly contradict God's word and say the exact opposite! They say that when Hebrews was written (some 35 years after the Cross), Herod's temple still had "standing" in God's sight and that the animal sacrifices of Moses were still "imposed." How can preterists have such a low view of Christ's work and of Scripture that they blatantly contradict God and make the temple services and animal sacrifices actually continue to be imposed by God years after Christ's work on the Cross? ANSWER

103. QUESTION 103: The book of First John is dated around A.D. 85-95, yet it speaks of a future coming of Christ. Doesn't this disprove preterism? ANSWER

104. QUESTION 104: Galatians 3:28 says that for believers, "there is neither male nor female," because all of us together are "one in Christ Jesus." Doesn't this mean that in the New-Covenant world, men and women are now absolutely equal in every way ("one") and that men no longer have any authority of any kind whatsoever over women? ANSWER

105. QUESTION 105: The Apostle Paul made it clear that believers were no longer under the Jewish Law. Doesn't this contradict Christ who said in Matthew 5:18 that not one law of Moses would pass away until all things were fullfilled? ANSWER

106. QUESTION 106: In Question 105, you mention that gentile Christians were "never called to partake of the body of the Mosaic ordinances, because gentile believers were becoming sharers in Israel's promised spiritual things, not in Israel's decaying system of "shadow." But if water-baptism was an old-covenant ritual that symbolized a greater spiritual reality to come (Matt. 3:11), then why were gentile Christians commanded to be baptized? ANSWER

107. QUESTION 107: In Rom. 8:11, Paul said that God was going to give life to the "mortal bodies" of believers. How exactly was this fulfilled at a first-century Parousia of Christ? If the "mortal bodies" of those pre-parousia saints were cast off and remain in the dust to this day, how could their "mortal bodies" have been made alive? ANSWER

108. QUESTION 108: We cannot find even one full preterist anywhere in history until the 19th century. If the historic Church is "the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth," how could the Church have totally missed the greatest events in all redemptive history: The Second Coming and the Resurrection of the Dead? If the Church was so radically blind and deaf and steeped in error that it could not see and teach the fulfillment of those cardinal doctrines for about 1,800 years, then the historic Church was the Pillar and Foundation of a LIE. Therefore, as orthodox Christians, we must conclude that preterism, and not the historic Church, is the damnable Lie. If you preterists claim to be Christians, how do you get around this devastating logic? ANSWER

109. QUESTION 109: I have a question about your article on tongues. I cannot argue with anything in the article as far as fulfillment. However, why would there not be churches today that prophesy and speak in tongues en masse, of course "in order"? As you said, there is a possibility God would have someone do it today. He is God. He can do as he pleases. Why would He not have it en masse for the same reason today as in the 1st century A.D., for the unbelievers? ANSWER

110. QUESTION 110: What does Matthew 11:12 mean? Who were "the violent" ones who were causing the kingdom of heaven to suffer "violence" since the days of John the baptist? ANSWER

111. QUESTION 111: How does the doctrine of perseverance change, if at all, with a realized point of view? So much of the exhortation of the epistles addressed the perseverance of the saints (through times of tribulation and suffering), emphasizing the work of God to bring them to a successful "conclusion." Is post AD70 salvation/perseverance organically different in some way(s)? I am also thinking specifically of Paul's "filling up that which is behind of the sufferings of Jesus Christ." Do we still do that? ANSWER

112. QUESTION 112: In Matt. 16:18,19, Jesus promised Peter that he (Peter) would be the "rock" upon which Jesus would build His church. Jesus then gave Peter "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." In Isa. 22:22, when God gave Eliakim "the key of the house of David," that meant that Eliakim had been uniquely placed into a dynasty as "prime minister" under the king. Since Eliakim had successors, this must mean that Peter was the first in a line of successors who are "prime minister" under the King. As history makes clear, the unbroken line of successors of Peter's bishopric in Rome have been the Popes. Thus the Pope, sitting in the inherited seat of Peter as the "rock," always rules as head of the one, holy Catholic Church. How do you answer these arguments? ANSWER

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