Who said this?
But the things which took place afterwards, did our Saviour, from his foreknowledge as THE WORD or GOD, foretell should come to pass, by means of those which are (now) before us. For He named the whole Jewish people, the children of the City; and the Temple, He styled their House. And thus He testified, that they should, on their own wicked account, bear the vengeance thus to be inflicted. And, it is right we should wonder at the fulfilment of this prediction, since at no time did this place undergo such an entire desolation as this was. He pointed out moreover, the cause of their desolation when He said, “If thou hadst known, even in this day, the things of thy peace:” intimating too His own coming, which should be for the peace of the whole world. But, when ye shall see it reduced by armies, know ye that which comes upon it, to be a final and full desolation and destruction. He designates the desolation of Jerusalem, by the destruction of the Temple, and the laying aside of those services which were, according to the law of Moses, formerly performed within it. The manner moreover of the captivity, points out the war. of which He spoke; “For (said He) there shall be (great) tribulation upon the land, and great wrath upon this people : and they shall fall by the edge of the sword.” We can learn too, from the writings of Flavius Josephus, how these things took place in their localities, and how those, which had been foretold by our Saviour, were, in fact, fulfilled. On this account He said, “Let those who are in its borders not enter into it, since these are the days of vengeance, that all may be fulfilled which has been written.” Any one therefore, who desires it, may learn the results of these things from the writings of Josephus.
Reformed critics of full preterism usually argue that the notion that all of prophecy was fulfilled in the first century is a recent doctrine, sometimes attributed to Luis de Alcazar in the 17th century or James Stuart Russell in the 19th century, oftentimes with full blame also given to Max King in the 20th for its recent revival. In order to call it heresy (as almost all of them do), they have to refer to it as unorthodox - something that the historic Christian Church has never believed. The quote above is from the period around the time of the first Council of Nicaea, an ecumenical council whose resulting creed is usually used by the Reformed as proof positive for a future return of Christ and final judgment. It was written by one Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea and preeminent Church historian. When Eusebius wrote this in the Theophania he had already begrudgingly signed the Nicene Creed, and afterward said other things that did not seem to altogether uphold it. This casts an aspersion on the ability of the ecumenical councils to stand as the supreme trump card divinely ordained. For that matter, where did those ecumenical councils go? If they are all the Reformed think they are, we could use a few nowadays.
Meanwhile, I reserve the right to affirm full preterism as a doctrine that has “historical Church” credentials.
[MAJOR EDIT]
The original quote that I had up there was by Samuel Lee, the translator, as his summary of what he believed after reading Eusebius. It is decidedly more full preteristic than Eusebius’ own words. I have replaced Lee’s words with some of the words of Eusebius that influenced Lee so strongly. What is stated here is common to both partial preterism and full preterism, and is thus not the argument that I thought it was. Unfortunately, the full futurists who find out that an ECF believed something or other don’t generally care what those ancient, “Catholic” guys thought and will go on believing what our modern end-times “experts” tell them. I do put some value on what the ECF believed (as much as I do any sincere Christian), but I never believe what they said just because they said it.
All those concessions aside, Eusebius’ quote above does put the Second Coming in the first century. I am a full preterist for exegetical reasons: there’s no way you’re going to convince me there’s some sort of gap somewhere in Matthew 24 that magically splits prophecy of first-century events from prophecy of events to take place no earlier than the third millennium (that’s now). The Second Coming occurred in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem: any other “coming” we’re waiting on is a third coming not promised in Scripture.
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52 responses so far ↓
1 Josh H. // Jun 5, 2008 at 8:02 am
That’s an interesting quote to find. The seeming unorthodoxy of full preterism has caused me to keep it somewhat at arm’s length. The creeds are a big part of that. I respect Eusebius and know that he was an important church father however he’s still just one man. I guess I need more.
I still have trouble with defining the millennium as well as the “meet the Lord in the air and thus shall we ever be with the Lord” statement in 1 Thess. 4:17.
For those who don’t know me I reject the doctrine of the rapture and I believe that pretty much everything foretold by the NT was fulfilled by 70 A.D. (with the destruction of Jerusalem/the templ)e. If you absolutely need a label for me then I guess I’m a partial preterist. But within any preterist framework, I am not sure where 1 Thess. 4:17 fits in.
Back to the Eusebius quote, what did he mean by “from that day to the extreme end of time”? Did he still believe in an absolute end?
2 Heather // Jun 5, 2008 at 9:33 am
I find it somewhat reassuring to learn that you at least believe something that’s been around for a while. I still don’t agree with you, but that’s okay. I, for one, would find it interesting if you did a post (or a series of posts) on how you came to believe in preterism. [If you've already done this, my apologies - I read each post, but I'm afraid I don't remember them very well]. Considering that you and I had similar religious upbringing when we were kids, I’m curious as to what sparked your belief that what you were taught growing up might not be the full story.
3 Steve // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:29 am
Josh said:
I guess I’m just not sure why the millennium question is so central for you. Given its proper weight, it does only occur in one small passage fraught with textual variants from an obscure book of the Bible with all kinds of over-the-top imagery and hyperbole. We shouldn’t ignore it, of course, but I think we have clear testimony as to “the shape of things to come” elsewhere in the NT.
If Christ’s reign began at His ascension and was consummated at the Parousia in AD 70, that period stands as the eschatologically significant reign of Christ, a.k.a the Millennium. Indeed, Paul in many places affirms the eschatologically significant reign of Christ as then current before AD 70, so you can’t easily claim that whatever the Millennium refers to is something that doesn’t take place before AD 70. But if everything in the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled at AD 70, then what was there left for God to do eschatologically? Remember, Jesus predicted in Mat 24.30-31 that He would come (1) with clouds, (2) with a trumpet call, (3) and “gathering” of His elect together (cf. “. . . to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”). I can’t imagine how that could be a different occasion.
In fact, in Matthew 24 Jesus referred to the events surrounding the destruction of the temple as His “Parousia” three different times: although commonly - and not incorrectly - translated as “coming”, the word refers to the presence resulting from a coming, and hence “arrival” or “presence”. Now look at 1 Thes 4 again, and see that here again, Matthew 24 corresponds: compare Jesus’ promised “presence” with Paul’s statement that at His coming they would meet (the word means “usher in”, which rules out leaving the planet) and “be with” the Lord thereafter. How can this not be the event of 1 Thes 4? Are we to expect two such things happening, or do we let clear scriptural analogues interpret one another? Of course, as ever, the problem is defining what that means in less than literal terms, but if the timing is clear, the nature, however poorly understood, must in some sense follow. What we in the Church have today is apparently substantially better than what they had in the first century, although from our vantage point it seems hard to quantify the difference. I suggest that the “being with the Lord” was more of a reassurance that those he was talking to would not have to undergo the dreaded postmortem separation from God in Sheol.
Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John as well as Eusebius’ “all authorities” agreed that “the End” was tied in with when the gospel was preached to all the world and the power of the Holy People was scattered, when “all things that are written must be fulfilled” (Lk 21.22), when the New Jerusalem was to descend from God, etc. I think futurists are right (red-letter day!) when they insist that the eschatology of the NT violently resists being broken up into one so-called End and then another two thousand years or more later: it’s all wrapped up together. The timing statements between Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John all point to an imminent eschaton, not one that was protracted over millennia.
As far as Eusebius’ remark about the “extreme end of time”, there are a couple options. One, it is possible that Eusebius, while having come to a different understanding of the nature of the eschatological End, never got around to questioning the “end of time” notion, created though it was by a physicalist understanding of the eschaton. Two, Eusebius may have been speaking hyperbolically as the occasion demanded it. And I don’t deny that there may be an end of time way off in the future, but I deny that it will be eschatologically significant - that stuff’s all taken care of.
Heather,
I have long considered doing a post on my journey to preterism. Stay tuned!
I am glad you think of me as a little less of a kook than you did before
4 graham // Jun 5, 2008 at 4:32 pm
That’s a cracking quote, Steve.
Can you give me the reference?
5 Steve // Jun 5, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Hey Graham! Long time, no see. You can find an HTML version quoting Samuel Lee’s translation (1843) of this passage here or download it here, although I understand there was another translation from the 60’s that I can’t find anywhere online. The Theophania (or Divine Manifestion) was long presumed all but lost since the only surviving copies of the original Greek version are so fragmented. The scholar Samuel Lee translated the newly discovered Syriac version which is complete (or nearly so) and which contains the above passage.
6 Josh H. // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:04 am
That is a good explanation. The millennium shouldn’t be such a big deal for me since it is mentioned only once in a sea of other hyperbolic statements and imagery. But here’s the rub. It’s not so much the millennium that’s a big deal, it’s the end of the millennium. Satan’s release. If John had simply said “Christ will reign for a 1000 years” and that was the end of the discussion then I’d say “ok, Christ’s kingdom was established at his ascension to the right hand of God and he reigns forever more. That would easily explain the 1000 years imagery (meaning a very long time, or forever). But if 70AD is also when Satan was cast into the lake of fire, then that means the millennium ended in 70AD (it would also mean Satan no longer exists and I’m not ready to concede that). So why would John say “1000 years” when he meant about 40 years (from 33AD to 70AD). 40 is a significant number in scripture anyway so it would seem appropriate. Revelation 20 as a whole confuses me. It says armies will surround the beloved city but they will be devoured. But in 70Ad it was the city that was devoured. The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem.
1 Thess. 4–”in the air”. That little prepositional phrase is the point of contention for me. What the heck does that mean? And I have a hard time thinking it had some metaphorical meaning rooted in Jewish thought, because he was speaking to Gentiles. Plus he preceded the discussing by saying “I do not want you to be ignorant…”. It sounds as though he starts by saying “I’m going to speak as plainly as I know how.” It doesn’t follow that he’d then throw in a bunch of Jewish metaphors. But he was Jewish after all. Maybe it just came through a little too strongly in his writing.
C.S. Lewis believed that there is an unpredictable end of the world coming. He likened it to a play saying that we may be in Act I or we may be in Act V. The ending (and the timing of the end) is known only to the author and we are expected to play our part well when we’re on stage, not guess the end. See the article at http://www.worldwithoutend.info/bbc/books/articles/cslewis.htm.
You can see this belief of his played out in the fictional story “The Last Battle”. Evil people are sent into a Hell-like eternity and the righteous go on to Aslan’s country—a Platonic, heavenly place that resembles the current world but is more real. It is the true reality of which everything we now see is merely a shadow, a foretaste.
There’s a part of me that has fallen in love with this take on the end, though I can find little to back it up biblically. As you’ll see in the article, Lewis uses some scriptures including Matthew 24. However he ignores the context missing the fact that Matthew 24 is an answer to the disciples about when the temple will be destroyed, not the end of the world.
My belief thus far has been that there will be an end and it will simply happen. One minute you’re driving your car, feeding your baby, writing a blog, listening to your iPod, and the next minute you’re in eternity and all the present cosmos will have passed away. No rapture, no tribulation, no 666, no anitchrist. Just poof. The righteous will enjoy eternity in the presence of God (whatever that looks like) and the wicked will go on to eternal torment/outer darkness/whatever it is. This is what I want to believe. But I’m finding it harder and harder to back it up. 1Thess. 4:17 is the only thing in scripture that comes close.
7 Doug Moody // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:48 am
Steve,
You could really help out the cause here by finding even more ancient statements like this. I for one would love to read them. If you do find more, can you add them here so I can point my friends to one spot?
Thanks
8 Steve // Jun 6, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Josh,
Gotta love your stream-of-consciousness comments. It’s obvious you’re weighing the evidence without feigning objectivity, and that’s great.
This is tough, indeed. I’m not sure why we need him around anymore. The explanatory powers of a belief in an active devil are exceedingly small, especially given his lack of omniscience and omnipresence and our increasing understanding of the natural sicknesses of the minds of men. But regardless, we should be able to agree that, whatever his role after Christ’s work, it’s dropped off significantly: if he still exists, Christ’s work defeated him and left him toothless. But here again, the nature of the language of Revelation prevents us (me, anyway) from coming down too hard on any side of the question.
Excellent question. I have a friend who argues, as J.S. Russell did, that this short passage and the end of the millennium is all we are waiting for. My own thoughts are that this passage is talking about something different altogether, perhaps the Gentile persecution of the Church or something. I am not aware of any “standard” full preterist answer to this question, but I’d like to hear it, too.
It’s not altogether clear what sort of people made up the Thessalonian congregation, but whoever they were, they would need to have been at least slightly aware of the Jewish Sheol/Resurrection system of belief for them to be asking the questions and for Paul’s comments to have made much sense. There’s great reason to believe that even Gentile converts were more savvy to this sort of stuff anyway: Paul emphasized to Timothy, pastor at Ephesus with an apparently sizable percentage of Gentiles, how important it was to teach his congregation the Old Testament (2 Tim 3.16-17).
Of course, if you’re not going to allow metaphorical language, then you’ve got to affirm the literal trumpet, voice, and visible descent of the Lord from the clouds at the end (as dispensationalists tend to). The “in the air” comment is made in reference to meeting the Lord in the sky, so the literalness or symbolism of each rises and falls with the other.
This is not wholly unlike what I believe, actually. I believe that we appropriate God’s reality, the Jerusalem above (Galatians 4:26), to our temporal reality. The world cannot see anything but the shadows, but we live in the kingdom of light. But of course I know that’s not what Lewis and Plato were talking about. Actually, in my mind, I view the difference between earth and heaven more in the Lewisian sense, but I tie it to our own individual eschatons rather than to the end of the world.
Sort of like the “thief in the night” without the rest of Matthew 24?
Well, like you, I cannot see much Scriptural justification for that view. On the contrary, both the NT and OT insist on the eternality of the New Covenant: the Church Age has no end (Isa 9.6-7; Dan 2.44, 7.13-14; Luke 1.32ff; Ep 3.21). Perhaps billions and billions of years in the future the physical universe will implode, but by then I expect we’ll be noncorporeal beings like we see in Star Trek 
9 graham // Jun 6, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Thanks, Steve.
Josh, I have to say that I respect your honest investigation here. I myself remember reaching a position that I wanted to believe in. The reason I wanted it was because it made sense of all of the texts for me. It was a while before I realised that I now interpreted all of those texts differently, so all I was left with was a position with no texts to back it up!
In my opinion, one of the best preterist theologians is the relatively unknown Randall Otto. His discussion of the 1 Thess. meeting in the air would prove helpful, I’m sure. Personally, I see it - along with the word parousia - as having a very obvious meaning to the first hearers. I think it refers to the process whereby a newly (or about to be) appointed ruler was welcommed to the city.
John Noe argues that the ‘air’ refers to the heavenly spiritual realm, but I’m not sure it’s even necessary to see it that literally.
Then again, it might just be a metaphor for resurrection?
10 Doug Moody // Jun 6, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I think the confusion about 1 Thess comes from confusion about what Jesus will do AFTER He returns. Remember what 1 Thess says? It says “so shall we ever be with the Lord” So my next logical question would be “Where is the Lord”?
If the Lord were to stay in the air, then we would stay there with Him. But His feet are to (or did) stand on the mount of olives. So, we too will be “ever with Him” wherever He is! His “position” now is as ruler, and that is the position we share with Him.
The meeting in the air is all about the resurrection, not about the PLACE of the meeting. If we rise, we rise to HIM. Its impossible to rise unless you go up, right? You can’t “rise” if you go down, right?
So, at the resurrection, we go “up” to meet him (which metaphorically is the opposite of down unless you believe this is a literal rising!) The significance of that is that righteous ones go up, and Jesus is “up”, and the unrighteous go “down”, and we all know where down is!
11 Prets R Blind // Jun 23, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Thought you should know that this quote is not from Eusebius. It is from Samuel Lee who translated the Theophania.
12 Steve // Jun 23, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Too true, stranger. Thanks for the heads-up!
13 Doug Moody // Jun 23, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Josh and Steve,
Assuming that Jesus has already returned, and that the millenium (a long time) occurs after His return, then we are faced with the things that will happen during the millenium. Basically, it’s outlined thus:
1. Jesus is our king and we are living with Him in a sort of “heaven on earth” imagery, and that we are ruling with Him. Could that “long time” period be both God’s Kingdom AND the millenium? Do you have to separate the two as being non-contemporaneous?
2. The lamb and the wolf will dwell together and the wolf will not harm the lamb. Little children will play in the hold of the snake. But a little child shall lead them! Who is really the dominant “species” here?
3. The devil is chained during this time, but will be allowed out for a little while, to tempt the whole world. Full preterism doesn’t allow for ANY further fulfillment of prophecy. Yet, if we MIGHT be in a millenial kind of period, right now, then is it possible that the devil might yet be allowed out of his prison?
I am not ready to say that ALL prophecy ended in 70 AD. I think a strong case can be made for MOST things, but not all! Full preterism hasn’t made that case yet. Until they do, then the millenium existing as God’s kingdom on earth today might just be the missing link that allows christians today to be living in it, yet still allow for satanic influence in the future. It would also explain some other things that are happening even now in the world. It would also bring hope that more truth about the bible could go out to the world AFTER the “millenium” because the sin issue and satan’s role in it will be finally revealed for all. I am reminded of Is 14 and Ezek. 28
and what of the nations of the world?
Has this actually been explained in preterist system? I see a great deal about the events of 70 AD in relation to the Parousia of Christ, but not much about the defeat of evil.
Can it be that the period AFTER the millenium (the indeterminate time when God’s people are dwelling side-by-side in a world that still has wolves and snakes in it) that satan is loosed in order to bring about his FINAL destruction?
I have often wondered what purpose is going to be served by him being restrained during the millenium and then let loose for a little season, if the millenium is going to be some kind of utopian spot on earth. Wouldn’t it be a spoiling of paradise? But what if satan’s release is all about the creation of a crisis of worldwide proportions that finally brings about a seriousness in the world’s consciousness to turn to Jesus, both in the church and without? Would we not see a time of conversion such as the world has never seen?
Just some alternate thinking… You guys can carry it from there!
14 Steve // Jun 23, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Doug,
Thanks for the questions. Scripture seems clear that the events at the end of the Millennium were to coincide with the Second Coming and the Resurrection of 1 Cor 15 (see my post, “The Millennium and the Resurrection of the Dead“). What Scripture can you point to that demands something yet to be fulfilled?
You are troubled by evil continuing, and want to see a stop put to it, but when you consider that there was evil even in the supposedly pristine, ideal Garden, there doesn’t seem to be a scriptural promise of such. I mean, weren’t things prophesied to be set aright in grandiose terms with the multiple “days of the Lord” against each two-bit nation in the OT? But evil continued afterwards. There is, to my mind, no way getting around the correlation of the events prophesied in Matthew 24 with the events Paul referred to in Thessalonians 4, nor the possibility of differentiating between what he said there and in 1 Corinthians 15, nor between what he said in 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 20. It’s all tied in together.
15 Steve // Jun 23, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Also, Doug, you asked,
This has been addressed. Check this out, for instance. Also, from a non-preterist, read this thought-provoking post.
16 Joseph // Sep 8, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Hello everyone. I’m Joseph and I’d like to share with you some thoughts about my Preterist position.
As a young child, I was primarily taught Futurism. It wasn’t until the mid 90’s that I began my studies on Matthew 24, and Revelation, and noted the comparisons. A minister of mine (in the past) didn’t preach preterism to me, but simply said, “Study it again…” as he reacted to my Jack Vanimpie videos. *Laughs* He apparently knew that the best way for me to learn these things was to carefully study it myself, without preaching it to me. My first transition into Preterism was the phrase, “they shall say to the hills, ‘hide us’ and to the Mountains, ‘fall on us….” I noted that Revelation matched with the words of Christ, regarding the quoted passage. After careful review, I told my minister, “You know what? I’m starting to think that Revelation had to do with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple!” His reply was, “Now I think you’re getting somewhere!” That single moment changed my understanding of eschatology, from Futurism to Preterism.
Now, about the 1000 years, I too have been confused (probably still am) about this teaching, but I’d be glad to offer my theories. A full Preterist would state that the 1000 years represented the time of David to Christ, or the 40 year ministry of the Apostles. I have a difficult time accepting that, and here’s why.
When we read Revelation 20, we note that John saw thrones, and those who sat upon them, prior to the Millennium. John then lists supporting details about the resurrection of the Martyrs, and the binding of Satan for the 1000 years until such time for his release. We cannot assume that Satan was bound during the 40 years, because Peter referred to Satan as a roaring lion searching for someone to devour. Paul also mentions that Satan would soon be crushed under His (Christ) feet. Therefore, the idea that the Millennium is prior to Jerusalem’s destruction would not work.
Now getting back to the Thrones, skip down to verse 11 (or was it 14), John starts talking about the Great White Throne, and He who was seated upon the Throne. Now compare this with Daniel chapter 7, and you’ll see that Daniel only mentions one set of thrones being established in a single moment of our time (mid 60’s AD probably), where the “Ancient of days took his seat, and books were opened…..” Daniel only refers to a single event for the Throne, but then shows that its reign is forever and ever. John, however, seems to speak of thrones set up prior to the Millennium, and finally after the Millennium. This would seem to indicate Thrones being set-up in two spaces of time, with Christ being seated after the Millennium. But is this correct? I don’t think so.
What’s my resolution to this? There aren’t two moments in time when the Thrones are established; Daniel proves that this throne was set-up when the judgment was to occur on the 4rth Beast (particularly the 11th horn). I believe the 4rth Beast was none other than the Roman Empire of the 1st century. John must have been seeing the exact same thing. Even so, how do we explain the 1000 years?
Answer: The 1000 years is not a limit for the rule of Christ or the Martyrs (for they are still ruling now) The 1000 years is a limit for Satan’s binding, and his final army used to attack the Church after his release. It is then that his rebuilt army surrounds the camp of the Saints, but fire (or wrath) comes down from heaven and devours them, and the Devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire. At this time, the judgment of the dead is even larger. Can anyone argue that our population (in our day) is not larger than that of the first century? Thus, I believe the Judgment began in the first century, and continues even through our day.
What do I mean by all of this? The Throne, the New Jerusalem, and eternal gifts of the cleansing waters (The Holy Spirit) are eternal. The 1000 years is not a limiting factor for Christ, but for Satan. This means that Satan was not sentenced to the LOF in the first century, but continued with Rome (His Beastly kingdom) even after Jerusalem was destroyed. Here’s what I mean.
Go back to Revelation 19 (or 18 I think) and you’ll see that the Harlot (Jerusalem) is first destroyed by the Beast. The beast, after its victory over the Harlot, attacks the rider on the white horse (Christ). But He kills the Beast, and those who followed the Beast. The rest were killed by the double edged sword that came out of the mouth of Christ. This is the Roman Empire against the Church. Now what happened in the first few centuries against the Church (at the hands of the Romans) matches this perfectly. The Beast that killed the Harlot (False Jerusalem 70 AD) was concentrating all of its effort against the Church; the offspring of Israel….the Israel of God…..the rider on the white horse. But Christ eventually wins this one.
It’s at this point that Satan is bound for the 1000 years, which in my opinion simply means, “A LONG TIME”. Afterwards, Satan is released to AGAIN DECEIVE the nations on the 4 corners of the earth (keep in mind that they once believed the earth was squared). Now this should show you that Satan deceived the nations during the Old Testament days, was given a little time during the ministry of the Saints, and after 70AD, he was bound, probably when Rome fell to the Church. But sometime later, probably the Spanish Inquisition, or perhaps yet to come, Satan is unbound and gathers his massive army to surround the camp of the Saints. This is the Church. Camp, in the Old Testament, was a place where those who were keeping themselves pure, were to assemble for battle; they had to remain pure for 7 or so days (exact amount of time unknown; refer to Deuteronomy). In our case, our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with evil forces.
Yes folks, I’m beginning to believe that Satan is using his army to attack the Church…I myself believe that Satan was released some time ago, and is currently attacking the Church through ISLAM! Or perhaps using false churches….or not at all….he’s still bound….but is he? Again, this conclusion is my theory, not my fact.
I’m interested in your comments.
Joseph
17 Joseph // Sep 8, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Oh, and if anyone is interested. I’d like to invite you to the Biblewheel.com forum. We’re trying to build a nice gathering of debator’s on Preterism, Futurism, Historicism. Here’s a link if anyone is interested. My user ID is “TheForgiven”.
http://biblewheel.com/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18
Any eschatology is welcomed… :o)
Joseph
18 Doug Moody // Sep 8, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hi Joseph,
It sounds like at least ONE person in the world thinks as I on this topic. Thanks for the reinforcing view.
19 Joseph // Sep 8, 2008 at 8:38 pm
You’re very welcome Moody.
I’ve been a Full Preterist for about fix years now, bouncing back and forth between Partial and Full Preterism. Like you, the Millennium continues to cause tremendous heart burns for the Full Preterist position.
I for one know without a doubt that the New Jerusalem is the Church. We, spiritually, comprise the New Jerusalem. [I'll explain the meaning of the different stones, pearls, jewels, and sort later] The New Jerusalem provides water which runs from the city. Is this water literal? No, it can’t be. For the “true” water that Christ often spoke of was [is] the Holy Spirit. The story of Christ and the Samaritan woman proves this, that the Holy Spirit is the water which wells up to eternal life. At the end of Revelation, we see an invitation to partake “FOR FREE” the gift of the water of life. Now if the New Jerusalem is future, then how could this water be offered today? You and I are still helpless, without a helper to guide, councel, rebuke, encourage, and instruct us, if the Holy Spirit has not come. But we know it has come, will come, just as the free invitation states in Revelation.
The likeness is towards the tree of life (Which is Christ), the leaves for the healing of the nations, and the fruit which is produced monthly. Is this literal? No, I believe the leaves represent covering from extreme sun-heat, symbolically representing the story of Jonah, who sat in a hot wilderness watching if God was going to destroy the city. But because God didn’t, he became depressed, and God grew a small tree to offer cover from the heat. But the leaf whithered and he once again became depressed. In short, the leaves which heal the nations (because of Satan’s corruption of the past) are a representation of the Church offering refuge and comfort to the nations. The nations that serve God All-Mighty are somewhat protected from evil; not by force, but by choice. But when we choose to abandon our God, He will let us wander in the wilderness of desert-like heat, figuratively speaking.
The fruits are the righteous gifts shared among the Saints.
There’s much more, but the 1000 years is not, in my opinion, something that should be used as a time-clock for Christ. For His rule, along with the Martyrs of the first century, as far as I can tell, is forever and ever, and established now. So I realized that the Throne’s are not two separate thrones in two distinct times, but one throne ruling through the times, which means the New Jerusalem came upon the earth in the first century, after the Harlot (Jerusalem) was destroyed, and the new wife, the bride of the lamb, is ready for the wedding, which happened AFTER 70 AD, whether immediately or slightly after is another question.
That brings me to my last point. Notice how the “WEDDING” occurs after the Harlot is destroyed, and how the “BRIDE” is prepared after the 1000 years are completed (Not ended, but completed or fulfilled). I mean, how are we to understand that? If the wedding invitations are sent out after the Harlot is destroyed (70 AD), then how could their be a wedding some several 1000 years later? Why was the “BRIDE” being dressed as an “adorned bride” after the completion of the Millennium? Who among us asks our wives to put on their wedding gown 40+ years or so, after our marriage? Do you see what I’m getting at?
Therefore, the thrones, the wedding, the marriage, and the eternal reign all began in the first century. But the Chillias (The Thousands of years) began in the first century, and continues for ever and ever. But Satan’s time is limitted; we must not get confused about the 1000 years; that has only to do with Satan’s time.
Brothers and Sisters….OUR TIME IS ETERNAL! The only question is, which eternity do we choose?
Joseph
20 Steve // Sep 9, 2008 at 12:01 am
Welcome, Joseph! Glad to have you
Let me start off by saying that Jesus said in Luke 21.22, referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, “These are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that has been written.” Lest someone respond, “But Revelation had not been written yet,” let me point out that Revelation itself puts a time frame on its fulfillment in both its first and last chapters (1.1, 22.10). That’s where I am on that issue.
Moreover, given the relative clarity outside of Revelation (particularly the Gospels and the epistles), I will not let such an obscure book of the Bible as Revelation determine my eschatological view one way or another (Luther even doubted its canonicity - as have I). The teaching on the millennium is either isolated to the first part of that one chapter (as presumably you and Doug would say) or it correlates with something described in another manner elsewhere, and I’m confident that elsewhere you’ve got full preterism cut and dry. I can’t imagine letting a few verses out of an already vague, symbolic book, teachings delivered in apparent isolation of all other biblical teachings, determine my entire eschatology. That said, I do think there are answers to some of your questions about the millennium.
For one, you said,
Peter and Paul were both writing in the last part of the 40 year period. Too, I have a hard time saying that Satan being “crushed” soon under Christ’s feet corresponded to merely being bound (with one last hurrah in the future) and not his being cast into the Lake of Fire. “Crushed” sounds like “finished”, not “sitting on death row for a thousand and some years, followed by an escape and a few more jollies at God’s expense for a few centuries, and then being finished off”.
Don’t have time to respond to all the interesting things you said at the moment, but with any luck I’ll find some time real soon to engage what you said. I especially appreciate your closing thoughts on your last comment about not getting hung up on the millennium.
I’m glad you came by! I’ll check out Biblewheel.com - thank you for the recommendation.
21 Joseph // Sep 9, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Hello Steve, and thank you so kindly for the warm welcome.
I invite everyone to the Biblewheel forum. There we have great debates occuring, although a few other members appear to be busy at the moment.
Thank you for answering my questions, and I look forward to your other responses.
Regarding Satan being crushed, I believe He was crushed in the first century, but I don’t believe “crushed” necessarily means killed. It was his kingdom, and his reign that was crushed, when Christ took His power and poured out gifts to expand His kingdom. By 70 AD, the kingdom was ready to take charge against the nations, though not in a war against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces all throughout Asia Minor, and so forth. Emperor Trajan, in the late 1st century, set up a throne in one of the seven churches, “Where Satan’s throne is”, thus proving that Satan was still quite active. Only this time, it wasn’t against the Jews, but against the Christians throughout the Empire.
Now regarding the date, I’m like you; I believe Revelation written in the early 60’s AD. At the same time, I can see strong support for a late dating, while still hold to its fulfillment in 70AD. Why? Because Revelation, in my opinion, was preparing the Gentile Christians for what was about to come upon them. Thus, I kind of believe that Revelation was used as a book to catch them up on current events, and the reason those events took place (specifically, the destruction of the Harlot). But just as they were murdered by the reign of Nero Caesar, I additional Beasts were about the attack them. We know this happened accordingly, as also recorded by Eusebius in the 3rd century. According to certain historical records, and by Eusebius, there were about 10 major Christian persecutions which took place until the early 3rd century, by which time the Church had gain total dominion and control over the Empire. What was formerly “Roman” had become “Christian”.
In Revelation, there’s the man “Antipas” the faithful witness who suffered Martyrdom. I believe he was killed by Emperior Domitian in the late 80’s AD, according to Greek Orthodox and RCC tradition. If this account was true, then there is no way that Revelation was written in the 60’s AD.
In conclusion, it’s not necessary that Revelation was a preparation for the Jewish calamity. Rather, a preparation for the suffering and misery the Gentile Christians were about to suffer. During the Neronean persecution, that was primarily against Christians in Rome. But by the time Domitian took office, and beyond, Christians all throughout the Roman dominate territories suffered intensely by authorities. The story of Perpetua is a saddened, though encouraging story of a young rich woman who gave herself to the Lord; of which both she and her Bishop were sentenced to death in the Arena.
I’ve much more to say but I’ll await your response my dear friend. Again, thanks for the welcome.
with Gods love,
Joseph
22 Steve // Sep 10, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Joseph,
Thanks for that thoughtful comment! I’ve wondered for some time if what we have in Revelation is not predictive prophecy, but more like insight into non-future events. In this view, Revelation was written after the fact as a way of giving meaning to the events that had occurred and, as you mentioned, to encourage believers throughout the ages undergoing similar circumstances.
I find this view intriguing, and it would actually fall in with the hunch I’ve had for a couple years now that Revelation shouldn’t really be the determining factor for eschatology. I hold the teachings of Jesus (naturally) and Paul as covering the key eschatological events well enough to formulate an accurate eschatological paradigm. Revelation - well, you can make it mean almost anything you want to. Jesus and Paul: crystal clear.
Anyway, gotta get back to work…
23 Joseph // Sep 10, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Joseph,
Thanks for that thoughtful comment! I’ve wondered for some time if what we have in Revelation is not predictive prophecy, but more like insight into non-future events. In this view, Revelation was written after the fact as a way of giving meaning to the events that had occurred and, as you mentioned, to encourage believers throughout the ages undergoing similar circumstances.
I find this view intriguing, and it would actually fall in with the hunch I’ve had for a couple years now that Revelation shouldn’t really be the determining factor for eschatology. I hold the teachings