Category: 8 - Idealism
04/23/08
07:33:28 pm, Categories: 5 - Time Texts For What?, 8 - Idealism, 1 - Jesus is Eschaton, 7 - Hyperpreterism Prophetic Fulfillment As Shadow
Historical Israel's Prophecy/Fulfillment Model Seen in the "Land Promises"
Almost everyone interested in eschatology is familiar with the relationship between prophecy and fulfillment. Clearly, there is a natural association between a prediction and its accomplishment.
No matter the context, seeing predictions come true can be very exciting. For instance, baseball player Babe Ruth is famous for having pointing his bat over the outfield fence prior to a pitch, and then clouting a home run to the exact location of his gesture.
Some prophecies are not fulfilled nearly so soon after their original declaration. However, when they are finally realized, the one who foretold its accomplishment looks even more impressive, for having been correct so much earlier. For instance, Albert Einstein's prediction of "frame dragging" (which assumed that space/time is pulled out of shape by large rotating objects) took 80 years to be confirmed. Scientists were thrilled to have been able to confirm Einstein's genius (and the fact that neither space nor time are fixed).
Biblical prophecies about Jesus, as well as those uttered by Him, are given much attention in an attempt to prove -- or disprove -- that the Bible and the Lord are superhuman and Divine.
Sometimes, however, in an attempt to "confirm" a prophecy, a rush to judgment is made, whereby a mistake brings disrepute upon the supposed author. This happens often regarding supposed prophecies about "the end of the world." For almost 2,000 years, futurist Christians have predicted the end of the world in their near futures, only to have their expectations crushed when the earth did not blow up on cue. Repeated failures have brought an odium of shame to the Bible and the Lord, even though the fault was entirely with those who mistook the prophecies for something they were not.
With Hyper Preterism (HyP), the miscues usually accrue in the other direction -- declaring something as being completed when in fact it is not. However, in some cases (such as with Jesus' "it is finished" declaration on the cross), things which are accomplished by Jesus Crhsit are said to be needing augmentation by the fall of a building in AD70.
04/20/08
It is very easy to read our ideas into the text of the Bible. In theological terms, this is known as Eisegesis (Greek: eishègeisthai 'to lead in'), which is the process of interpreting in such a way as to introduce one's own ideas into the text or context. With Hyper Preterism's "time texts," eisegesis is oftentimes the rule rather than the exception. In my opinion, such is the case when it comes to the "coming of the son of man" reference in Matthew 10:23.
It has become a working assumption in Hyper Preterism that the "coming" passages in the New Testament refer only to AD70. And the eisegetical presupposition that Matthew 10:23 is a "(Hyper) Preterist time indicator" is considered to be unassailable. This is true, despite the fact that there is not a hint or reference regarding AD70 in the text or context of the chapter from which to support this conclusion.
The "time indicator" claim is likewise made in reference to Matthew 16:27-28. However, as we have seen, there is not a hint of AD70 in the text or context of Matthew 16:27-28. This exposes a very embarrassing situation for Hyper Preterist scholarship. I have seen my fair share of HyP books (including a much heralded book recently released) which lead off with Matthew 16:27-28 as the cornerstone proof of the AD70 narrative. In short, Matthew 16:27-28 is not a "preterist time indicator" supporting Hyper Preterism, even tough it oftentimes is given more emphasis as a "proof text" than even Matthew 24:34!
04/19/08
After having been a futurist, a partial preterist, and then a full preterist, I came to the realization that attempting to limit the redemptive and prophetic acts of God to a single moment in time is the cause of most confusion regarding eschatology.
Why would we expect the Lord to perform His acts of power and glory just once — be it at a moment in time in the past or the future? What good does that do for all other generations? That incredibly narrow focal point robs every generation of so much contemporary strength -- by saying either that "it hasn't come yet" (Futurism) or "it is already over" (Preterism).
It seems to me that all prophecy ultimately finds its accomplishment in Jesus Christ Himself, as scripture states (Gal. 3:16, II Cor. 1:20, Col. 2:9, much etc.). The working of our Lord - translating His people from darkness to Light, and from old to new -- happens internally and personally for each, as opposed to externally and historically for a single generation of people. Even the cross must be received, and each follower must bear it in their own day. TODAY is the day of salvation, and TODAY if you will harden not your heart, etc...
An example of the mistaken external/historical realignment of eschatology can be found in commentaries on Matthew 16:27-28, which is a passage all Hyper Preterist (HyP) systems apply to AD70.
The Stoning of Stephen
Consider the “son of man” passage of Matthew 16:27-28 in light of its immediate textual context : persecution and martyrdom.
04/18/08
Both Telos and Eschaton
Eschatology is a theological term used to describe the study of consummation. Others refer to this area of study as being about "final" or "last things." Two primary Greek root words used in reference to eschatology are eschaton ("last" - Strong's 2078) and telos ("end" / "ending" - Strong's 5056).
Some assume that "the end" that is the focus of eschatology is the end of the world. Hyper Preterists assume that "the end" that is the focus of eschatology is the end of the Mosaic sacrificial system in the year 70. However, recognizing the consummation motif utilized by these words (as well as by sunteleia and others), we can see that these references do not look forward to the chronological end, but look back to the cross as the accomplishment.
04/15/08
The primary focus of this blog is opposing inferior doctrines of Hyper Preterism which incorrectly choose AD70 as their focal point. It is the working assumption that, and the purpose of this post to explain why, the most effective way to accomplish this task is by advocating superior doctrines which focus on Jesus Christ.
Others have made the mistake of opposing the historical focus of Hyper Preterism by advocating their historical focus of Futurism -- but this is ineffective. Even though the opposition to the false doctrine of Hyper Preterism may have been effective, that advantage is lost in not successfully completing the circuit by advocating sound doctrine.
False doctrine may end up appearing sound as a result of this ineffective attempt at refutation, and the victory for false doctrine on this technicality often leaves its followers mistakenly believing that the doctrine they advocate is sound!
