by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n
Recently, I attended this year’s Truth Lectures, which had as their theme eschatology, the study of the end times. Many of the lectures addressed preterism, the belief that the prophecies of the Bible all already have happened. In particular, preterists claim that the prophecies about the final judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the dissolution of the physical universe were fulfilled (in a figurative sense) during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.<\/p>\n
I believe that preterists are correct to recognize the importance of the first-century destruction of the temple and the downfall of the Jewish nation. In many ways, the ministry of Jesus is a last-ditch effort to turn the Jews aside from their destructive course. Their refusal to listen to Him (and the consequences of that refusal) reverberates throughout the New Testament. When we try to make everything in the Bible about us instead of its original first-century recipients, we fall into error.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/cemetery-300x200.jpg\")
However, it is equally erroneous to assume that all the climactic events of spiritual history already have occurred. Often, the falsity of false teaching becomes most evident not in the teaching itself, but in its ripple effects. In the case of preterism, I believe the biggest problems it creates arise through its denial of a general, bodily resurrection of the dead.<\/p>\n
Among other serious difficulties, denial of the resurrection of the body casts doubt on the resurrection of Christ. As Paul says in I Corinthians 15:13, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.<\/em>” Preterists argue that the general resurrection of I Corinthians 15 is the figurative union of Jew and Gentile Christians in 70 AD. Before we accept this interpretation, however, we must reckon with Paul’s use of “not even”. This indicates that the resurrection of Christ is the most prominent example of a larger class, as in, “If no gymnasts can land that jump, then not even Simone Biles can.”<\/p>\n “Not even” allows for two interpretations. Either the larger class of resurrections is literal, and the resurrection of Jesus is literal along with it, or the larger class of resurrections is figurative, and the resurrection of Jesus is figurative along with it. It does not, however, permit a mixed figurative\/literal reading.<\/p>\n Let’s suppose for a moment that the first part of v. 13 is about the figurative, invisible, unprovable union of Jew and Gentile in the church in AD 70. If it didn’t happen, how does that in any way undermine the bodily resurrection of Jesus in AD 30? A bodily resurrection can’t be a “not even” for a figurative class.<\/p>\n Therefore, in arguing for a figurative general resurrection, preterists imply that the resurrection of Christ also was figurative, a fatal problem for Christianity. As per Romans 1:4, the [bodily] resurrection of Jesus declares Him to be the Son of God with power. By contrast, the “resurrection” of Jesus only in the visions, dreams, and fond imaginings of His followers is useless as proof of His divinity. If that’s all the evidence we have, none of us should be Christians.<\/p>\n Preterists do well when they call us to consider the New Testament in its first-century context, but they err disastrously when they undermine the central conviction of Christianity. If the dead are not raised, not even Christ is raised, and if Christ is not raised, our faith is vain, we are still in our sins, and of all people, we are most to be pitied. Don’t take my word for it. Take the Holy Spirit’s.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Matthew W. Bassford Recently, I attended this year’s Truth Lectures, which had as their theme eschatology, the study of the end times. Many of the lectures addressed preterism, the belief that the prophecies of the Bible all already have happened. In particular, preterists claim that the prophecies about the final judgment, the resurrection of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[744,664],"class_list":["post-37059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preterism","tag-resurrection"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61898,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-there-be-more-than-one-coming\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":0},"title":"Can There Be More Than One Coming?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 3:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a movement that has gotten popular in various churches to state that all references to the Lord\u2019s coming refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is frequently called preterism, the A.D. 70 movement, or realized eschatology \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEschatology\u201d means the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-jesuits-develop-preterism-and-futurism\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":1},"title":"Did the Jesuits develop preterism and futurism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that 'preterism' and 'futurism' were Jesuit interpretations of prophecy that were contrived during the counter-reformation? I've read that in a couple of places and wondered what your study has led you to about that. Thank you. Answer: Preterism is the view that the prophecies concerning destruction,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7430,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-all-prophecies-be-seen-as-fulfilled-in-the-past-preterism\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":2},"title":"Should all prophecies be seen as fulfilled in the past (preterism)?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I appreciate your view, whatever it may be. I am not a \"full preterist\" at this point in time. I presume that you must have some interaction with others in your circle who do hold to the preterist view. At least we can say, that in this particular instance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-thessalonians-54-and-the-destruction-of-jerusalem\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":3},"title":"I Thessalonians 5:4 and the Destruction of Jerusalem","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Is \"this day\" (I Thessalonians 5:4) the destruction of Jerusalem? No! If \"this day\" is talking to the Thessalonians about the coming of the Lord in wrath on Jerusalem: How would that day overtake the Thessalonians as a thief? How did \"sudden destruction\" overtake any Thessalonians?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16201,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-end-of-the-age-refer-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":4},"title":"What does “end of the age” refer to?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am curious to know what you say the \"end of the age\" refers to? Does it refer to the end of the world or to a specific age? I ask this in relation to what you said about it in Matthew 28. I think some people (Full Preterists\/Hyper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26909,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-was-the-son-of-man-coming-in-his-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":37059,"position":5},"title":"When was the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When the Lord referred to \"the Son of Man coming in His kingdom\" (NKJV) is he referring to coming in Judgment or His return? Answer: To fully understand what Jesus said, we need to examine all three records of this particular teaching: \"For the Son of Man will come\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}