Words almost fail me to express the excitement I am feeling about the true preterist movement! While some of our detractors claim (falsely), that preterism is in disarray, this is nothing but hopeful propaganda on their part! Nothing could be farther from the truth! The Lord’s truth is on the march and expanding like never before! I want to share a tiny bit of what is happening, just in regard to Preterist Research Institute. And, I know for a fact that there are other, almost equally exciting things happening in other places as well.
I will be leaving this Friday, October 16, for my third trip to Australia. I am thrilled that William Bell will be traveling with me, to serve as my "tag team" speaker and share the load. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Al Persholn, doors are opening in Australia that are truly incredible! Here are just a few of the things that will be happening while we are "down under."
We will speak in three different cities. One of the churches we will speak at numbers in the hundreds and is already true preterist, according to the reports.
We will be doing a full day of radio recording to broadcast on the largest radio network in Australia. The network has at least 250 radio stations in it, and is expanding. The host is a true preterist and very excited about spreading the truth of God’s faithfulness.
We will be doing a full day of video recording in order to produce some broadcast quality DVDs. William and I will be doing some dialogic type teaching, and this will, as planned at this time, include a series on the basics of preterism, as well as addressing the issue of resurrection.
I have been invited to speak at a theological college to introduce Covenant Eschatology. I am trying to get an invitation for William to present a second lesson. What a thrilling opportunity to be able to introduce seminary students to the principles of fulfilled salvation!
While in Australia, William and I are due to meet with some of the leading evangelical leaders to introduce them to Covenant Eschatology.
While there, we are to meet with some leaders of a large Christian educational service that has over 1000 churches in its network. The stated purpose of the meeting is to begin discussions to set up a speaking tour for me, to introduce Covenant Eschatology to as many of the churches as are interested and willing to invite me.
As you can see, William and I will be busy in Australia! How exiting is all of this?! It is simply wonderful!
On another note, by now, I am sure that many of you know of the introduction, at long last, of my book on 1 Thessalonians 4:13f, entitled We Shall Meet Him In The Air; The Wedding of the King of kings. I must say that I am absolutely thrilled, and relieved, to have this seven year project completed! Furthermore, I am truly excited about the response to its introduction. Sales of this book have already sat records for us! Folks are not ordering just one. They are ordering two, three, and more!
In case you are unaware of the book, it is the first and only full length preterite commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4 that has ever been written! Responses to the book, from those who have already read it, are thrilling. It has been called "Preston’s Magnum opus", "Preston’s best book, by far", and responses like: "Finally, we have solid, definitive answers for one of the most challenging passages in the NT!"
Not only are readers thrilled with the book, previewers are likewise impressed. Noted scholar and author Andrew Perriman wrote (on back cover of the book):
"The question of how the New Testament writers spoke about the future of the people of God remains extremely vexatious and divisive, but we cannot deal with the problem simply by quarantining these 'rabid' biblical texts and anyone who has come into contact with them. In this well argued and well researched book Don Preston shows that Preterism is more than a sectarian reaction against dispensationalism; it has the potential whatever we may make of the detailed conclusions to contribute significantly to the broader renewal and reintegration of New Testament theology."
Dr. Andrew Perriman, author of The Coming of the Son of Man: New Testament Eschatology for an Emerging Church and Re: Mission: Biblical Mission for a Post-Biblical Church, and founder of the Open Source Theology website.
If you have not yet ordered your copy of We Shall Meet Him In The Air, you need to do so! This is a great book that will give you solid, exegetical, definitive answers for understanding not only Thessalonians but the story of eschatology as a whole.
Regular price for Air is $23.95, plus $4.50 postage, for a total of $28.45. I introduced the book to a limited mail-out at $22.50, postpaid, and the response was fantastic! So, I am repeating that offer to my mailing list. This special will save you almost six dollars!
You can order the book through PayPal, by using my email address: dkpret@cableone.net. If you order the book directly off of my websites, you will be charged the regular price, so just send the total of $22.50. Be sure to make mention that you are taking advantage of the mailer special. Don’t wait! Order your copy today!
Also, I am thrilled to be able to offer a brand new MP3 series, entitled "Israel, Key To Understanding the End Times."
This is a series of eight lessons that were presented in Huntsville, Texas the weekend of September 12. Here is what is included (along with much, much more):
The Challenge of Jesus: The Problem of Time and the Problem of Israel in Biblical Eschatology.
The Prophet Hosea as a Template of Understanding Eschatology:
Hosea and the Promise of the New Covenant.
Hosea and the Promise of the ReMarriage of Israel
Hosea and the Promise of the Messianic Temple
Hosea and the Restoration of Israel
Hosea and the Nature of the Kingdom
The Hope of Israel Fulfilled!
Now, if you have my 30 lesson series on Hosea, you may be thinking that you have this material. Wrong! These lessons on Hosea are brand new, and develop the eschatological promises of Hosea as they are then developed in the New Testament, and proclaimed as fulfilled in Christ! This is some wonderful, thrilling material!
Regular price for this series will be $29.95 plus $4.50 postage. However, I am offering this series to list members for the very special price of $22.50 postpaid, for the month of October only! You can send the funds to me via PayPal using the email address above and be sure to include a note that you are ordering at the mailer special price.
And now, let me sweeten the offer even more! If you order the new book on Thessalonians, and the new MP3 series on Israel together, you can have both the MP3s and the new book for the fantastic price of $42.50 postpaid! If you ordered this two items separately, you would pay $63.90! But, by ordering them together, you will save over $21.00! This is a great bargain! Incidentally, although I will be in Australia for the next two weeks +, your orders will be filled, so don’t hesitate to order. Take advantage of this great special offer on these two brand new, very powerful items!
If you wish to send a check or MO to purchase these specials, you can send that to me at:
Don K. Preston
JaDon Management Inc,
1405 4th Ave. N. W. #109
Ardmore, Ok. 73401
I have been asked, repeatedly, about my next book project. Well, to be honest, I am trying to settle on that question. Here are some of the projects I have been working on (somewhat sporadically), for the last few years:
The Eschatology of the Parables of Jesus
The Salvation of Israel: Romans 11:25f
The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32), and New Testament Eschatology
New Testament Interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy.
This would essentially be a book on hermeneutics, but would address several issues including the nature of language, basic journalistic principles, how the NT writers viewed the OT prophecies, etc..
The publication of the Jordan - Preston Debate. As many of you know, I had a formal debate with prominent Reformed amillennialist James Jordan a few years back. That was a very, very good debate with tons of important and significant information presented. Thanks to the tireless efforts of one of our supporters, who has done the stenography work, that MSS is now in an editing form that I can work with. I believe that it is very important to make this debate available, so I intend to work on it.
I am also currently working diligently to revise my Like Father Like Son, On Clouds of Glory book, which is currently sold out. I am adding a significant amount of new material, including interaction with prominent amillennialist Kim Riddlebarger. This noted scholar is outspoken in his criticism of the preterism paradigm. In his 2003 book on Amillennialism, he attacks Covenant Eschatology as heretical. Lamentably, Mr. Riddlebarger is unwilling to defend his charges in formal publica debate. He was invited to debate me but refused. So, I will be offering some very significant remarks in response to his criticisms. This will be some great new material!
I have some other projects started as well, but these are the main ones I have been doing some initial writing on for a good while. As you can see, there is no lack of worthy and important topics!
One final bit of wonderful news. A Christian University (and college), president and I have been corresponding recently. This gentleman is very excited about our ministry, and we are now discussing plans to work together. One of the topics of interest and priority is that they want PRI to develop classroom curriculum for the presentation of Covenant Eschatology! They intend to offer a special Theology course with an emphasis on eschatology. At this juncture, the plan is to use my We Shall Meet Him book as required reading, as well as, possibly, the revised Like Father Like Son book. This University and college has an enrollment of 100,000 students! Just think of this! Now, of course, not every one of those 100,000 will take this theology course, but, just the fact that a college and University is intent on introducing theology students to Covenant Eschatology, incorporating our books, is just thrilling almost beyond words! Please, pray for this effort.
BTW, the development of curriculum based on the We Shall Meet Him book is progressing very well, under the wonderful efforts of a lady here in Ardmore, Shella Fitzgerald. Her degree is in education, and she has a great passion for Covenant Eschatology!
Well, I could go on and on! As you can see, however, there are some fantastic, wonderful things going on! Doors of opportunity are opening everywhere, that have never, ever been open before!
A final, important and necessary note. Due to the economic downturn, our monthly contributions have fallen, badly. We are in need of adding some additional monthly pledges to help us take advantage of the opportunities that are presenting themselves. As you read above of the wonderful things happening, just consider that, for instance, the trip to Australia has to be funded partially by PRI. And this is very, very expensive. But the need and the opportunity is so great that we cannot turn down this chance!
If you have ever considered supporting PRI, now is the time! If you have supported us in the past, but had to discontinue that support for a while, please, consider resuming your support. We cannot allow a lack of funding to keep us from walking through the doors of opportunity that are opening up everywhere! I never ask for donations and gifts unless we truly need it. Well, right now, we need your help! So please, give this some careful, prayerful consideration and let us hear from you!
Wonderful things are happening, and you can help take advantage of these opportunities!
For His Truth and In His Grace,
Don K. Preston
The Hope Of Israel And The Resurrection....
Terry Cropper shared this wonderful article with me:
Under the Old Covenant men was separated from God because of his sin that started with Adam in the garden of Eden. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). Because of mans sin condition sin offering for atonement had to be made (Exodus 29:36). These sacrifices were not taking sin away; they were covering sin for the forgiveness of the people.
During this Old Covenant era while man was separated, from God. Resurrection was promised to Israel (Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12), and it constituted "the hope of Israel" (Acts 26:6-9). This hope resided at the heart of the gospel preached to Israel (Acts 2:22-39; 4:1-2; 13:32-39; 23:6; 24:14-15). If death and Hades belonged to Judaism then one can understand the hope of resurrection.
In the process of revealing His plan for Israel resurrection God established a harvest seasons. The apostle Paul understood this concept for he writes. "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep ... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23)
One of the most interesting studies in the Bible is that of the "first-fruits" and "the harvest" as it relates to Israel’s resurrection. Where did this idea of "first-fruits" harvest originate? God uses the analogy of the first-fruits and harvest particularly to illustrate aspects of His plan of salvation for Israel. "On the same general principle that the firstborn of man and beast belonged to the God of Israel and were to be devoted to Him (Nehemiah 10:35-39).
The first-fruits including the first grain to ripen each season, were to be brought as an offering to God. Every Israelite who possessed the means of agricultural productivity was under this obligation (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Numbers 15:17-21; 18:12-13:). "Speak the to children of Israel, and say to them." When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your, behalf on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it (Leviticus 23:10-11).
The first-fruits were brought in a basket to the sanctuary and presented to the priest, who was to set the basked down before the altar. Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the first-fruits offering. The people were to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord. A burnt offering, a meal offering, and a drink offering were also required at that time. Deuteronomy 26:1-10 gives even more detail on the procedure of first-fruits.
In the New Testament, the first-fruits offering is mentioned seven times, always symbolically. Since Paul was a Israelite it would be only natural for him to have thought of (Christ as the first-fruits, Gk., aparche) because the day of Christ's resurrection was the second day of Passover week on which the first ripe sheaf of the harvest was offered to the Lord (Leviticus 23:10-11,15).
Paul also establishing another basic point. While Christ was the first-fruits of his people the saints were also significance of the "first ripe sheaf" Paul calls Epaenetus and the household of Stephanas “the first-fruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15). Paul also referred to the brethren as those "who have the first-fruits of the Spirit" (Romans 8: 23) His meaning is that, just as the first-fruits offering was the first portion of a larger harvest, these individuals were the first of a greater harvest to follow.
The resurrection began with the resurrection of Jesus. He opened the way. Then came the first-fruit of the gospel were representative of the harvest to come. In concept, first-fruits symbolizes God’s harvest of souls. This select group of Christians were purchased from the earth as a FIRST FRUITS offering (Act 20:28; Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Greek for purchased, means to go to the market. It is a picture of God coming to the earth, to select His FIRST FRUITS from the entire harvest. The first-fruits of the gospel, to whom God gave the earnest of the spirit, existed for the purpose of working out. Upon their acceptance to God depended the whole harvest (Romans 8:18-23)
The term "first-fruits" itself implies, the remainder of the harvest was about ripe. "First-fruits refers to the first portion of the harvest that is given to God. Most notably the first-fruits are: * The first to come in time * A pledge or hope of the greater harvest to follow.
According to the Law no grain was to be harvested at all until the first-fruits offering was brought to the Lord (Numbers 15:18,21; Leviticus 23:10, 11), The first-fruits sanctified the subsequent harvest. Every Jewish Christian understood this Old Testament concept.
The book of Revelation cannot be separated from the other books of the gospel. These first-fruit believers who died before the Parousia "the Finished work of Christ," did not go to the place of the dead Abraham's bosom or the Hadean realm Luke 16:19-31 but instead were under the altar. (Revelation 6:9). These first-fruit saints paved the way for the rest of the harvest.
This first resurrection is considered "blessed and holy" in Revelation 20:6 because of their intimate first-fruit relationship with the risen Christ. Their proximity to the Holy Place rendered them priest of God and the Messiah and they became part of that first century symbolic 1000 year reign of Christ.
The second important truth inherent in the first-fruits figure is the readiness of the harvest to be gathered as signified in the offering of the first-fruits. The act of reaping had already begun, as seen in the (acceptance or gathering of the 144,00) "first-fruits (Revelation 14:1-5).
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the (Temple) the way into the Heaven or the Holiest of all was now made OPEN (Hebrews 9:8). It was then that the first-fruits reached perfection, and were accepted of God.
The harvest was now ready to be cut and gathered in (Revelation 14:14-20). This is a two-fold harvest scene with verse 14-16 applying to the righteous, and verse 17-20 referring to the wicked. This same harvest judgment was prophesied by the prophet Joel (Joel 3:12-17).
The (righteous harvest) were the dead saints in Christ from the Old Covenant. These were people like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Isaiah, and Daniel, etc, who died in faith, not of a time, still to come in our future. David demonstrated his faith and trust in God to delivered him from the depths of the grave. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave (Psalm 86:13 NIV).
Total fellowship to David was to be in the presence of God in the afterlife. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)
The time for death to be abolished had arrived (2 Timothy 1:10). These "Old Covenant saints" were the rest of the harvest, the general resurrection. Knowing this, we can appreciate why God said: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38).
The harvest, follows the ripening "perfecting and offering of the first-fruits." With the return of Christ and the destruction of temple, the way into God presence was now opened (Hebrew 9:8). The Hadean realm was emptied, and the Old Covenant saints, who were the harvest were gathered in the general resurrection in A.D.70. This is the second resurrection that John mentioned in the first part of verse 5 of chapter 20.
The charge by some that putting the resurrection in the past destroys faith is far removed from the truth in scripture. By putting the resurrection were it belongs in God’s scheme of redemption for Israel the believer today immediately enter into his eternal reward, in the heavenly’s.
One way to better understand the teaching of John's resurrection in Revelation 20:5 is to get a better grasp of the literary devices that are used by the writer to produce the desired results of the revelation he is seeking to unveil. One such device is chiasmas, which is a term that designates a literary figure or principle, which consist of "a placing crosswise" of words in a sentence or writing.
The term is used in rhetoric to designate an inversion of the order of words or phrases which are repeated or subsequently referred to in the sentence or writing.
The text is color coded to help you in your understanding of this technique. At my blog.
http://newjerusalemcommunity.blogspot.com/
ANGEL CAME DOWN
20.1 A. And I saw an angel coming down from heaven
KEY OF NON-CITY OF GOD
B. having the keys of the abyss
(ENCIRCLER IN HAND)
C. and a great chain in his hand
22.2 IDENTITY AND FOUR NAME COUNT
D. And he laid hold of the dragon
the old serpent (so named in garden of Eden)
which is the devil
And Satan (so named in (1 Chr.21:1)
20:3 E. SATAN BOUND TO DECEIVE NATIONS NO MORE UNTIL END OF 1000YEAR REIGN
and he bound him a thousand years
and he cast him into the abyss and shut it
and sealed it over him that he should deceive the nations no more
until should be finished the 1000 years
and after these things must he be loosed a little while
20:4 F THEY FROM FIRST RESURRECTION SAT AND GAVE JUDGMENT
and I saw thrones and they say upon them and judgment was given to them
and the souls of them that had been beheaded
for the testimony of Jesus
and for the Word of God
and such as worshiped not the beast neither his image
and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand
G. WHO LIVED IN100 YEAR PERIOD
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
20.5 G. WHO LIVED NOT IN 100 YEARS PERIOD
The rest of the dead did not live again until were finished the thousand years
F. THEY FROM FIRST RESURRECTION-JUDGMENT BASED ON IMPUTED
RIGHTEOUSNESS
this is the first resurrection
20.6 blessed and holy is the one
who has a part in the first resurrection
over these the second death has no power
they will be priest of God and of Christ.
and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
SATAN LOOSED TO DECEIVE NATIONS
20.7 E. When the thousand years are complete
Satan will be released
20.8 and will come out
to deceive the nations
IDENTITY AND CORNER COUNT OF NATIONS
20.8b D. which are in the four corners of the earth
Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war
the number of them is like the sand of the seashore
20.9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth
ENCIRCLEMENT OF CAMP
C. and surrounded the camp of the saints
O.T.CITY OF GOD
B. and the beloved city
FIRE CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN
A. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them
Chiasmus in Rev. 20, Verses 1-9 from the works of George R. Douglas, Jr. Esp/Bethesda,MD
If we are to understand the timing of the resurrection we must immerse ourselves in the first century Jewish understanding of the resurrection. What a difference it make when we read the Bible through their Jewish biblical concepts.
Under the Old Covenant men was separated from God because of his sin that started with Adam in the garden of Eden. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). Because of mans sin condition sin offering for atonement had to be made (Exodus 29:36). These sacrifices were not taking sin away; they were covering sin for the forgiveness of the people.
During this Old Covenant era while man was separated, from God. Resurrection was promised to Israel (Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12), and it constituted "the hope of Israel" (Acts 26:6-9). This hope resided at the heart of the gospel preached to Israel (Acts 2:22-39; 4:1-2; 13:32-39; 23:6; 24:14-15). If death and Hades belonged to Judaism then one can understand the hope of resurrection.
In the process of revealing His plan for Israel resurrection God established a harvest seasons. The apostle Paul understood this concept for he writes. "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep ... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23)
One of the most interesting studies in the Bible is that of the "first-fruits" and "the harvest" as it relates to Israel’s resurrection. Where did this idea of "first-fruits" harvest originate? God uses the analogy of the first-fruits and harvest particularly to illustrate aspects of His plan of salvation for Israel. "On the same general principle that the firstborn of man and beast belonged to the God of Israel and were to be devoted to Him (Nehemiah 10:35-39).
The first-fruits including the first grain to ripen each season, were to be brought as an offering to God. Every Israelite who possessed the means of agricultural productivity was under this obligation (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Numbers 15:17-21; 18:12-13:). "Speak the to children of Israel, and say to them." When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your, behalf on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it (Leviticus 23:10-11).
The first-fruits were brought in a basket to the sanctuary and presented to the priest, who was to set the basked down before the altar. Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the first-fruits offering. The people were to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord. A burnt offering, a meal offering, and a drink offering were also required at that time. Deuteronomy 26:1-10 gives even more detail on the procedure of first-fruits.
In the New Testament, the first-fruits offering is mentioned seven times, always symbolically. Since Paul was a Israelite it would be only natural for him to have thought of (Christ as the first-fruits, Gk., aparche) because the day of Christ's resurrection was the second day of Passover week on which the first ripe sheaf of the harvest was offered to the Lord (Leviticus 23:10-11,15).
Paul also establishing another basic point. While Christ was the first-fruits of his people the saints were also significance of the "first ripe sheaf" Paul calls Epaenetus and the household of Stephanas “the first-fruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15). Paul also referred to the brethren as those "who have the first-fruits of the Spirit" (Romans 8: 23) His meaning is that, just as the first-fruits offering was the first portion of a larger harvest, these individuals were the first of a greater harvest to follow.
The resurrection began with the resurrection of Jesus. He opened the way. Then came the first-fruit of the gospel were representative of the harvest to come. In concept, first-fruits symbolizes God’s harvest of souls. This select group of Christians were purchased from the earth as a FIRST FRUITS offering (Act 20:28; Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Greek for purchased, means to go to the market. It is a picture of God coming to the earth, to select His FIRST FRUITS from the entire harvest. The first-fruits of the gospel, to whom God gave the earnest of the spirit, existed for the purpose of working out. Upon their acceptance to God depended the whole harvest (Romans 8:18-23)
The term "first-fruits" itself implies, the remainder of the harvest was about ripe. "First-fruits refers to the first portion of the harvest that is given to God. Most notably the first-fruits are: * The first to come in time * A pledge or hope of the greater harvest to follow.
According to the Law no grain was to be harvested at all until the first-fruits offering was brought to the Lord (Numbers 15:18,21; Leviticus 23:10, 11), The first-fruits sanctified the subsequent harvest. Every Jewish Christian understood this Old Testament concept.
The book of Revelation cannot be separated from the other books of the gospel. These first-fruit believers who died before the Parousia "the Finished work of Christ," did not go to the place of the dead Abraham's bosom or the Hadean realm Luke 16:19-31 but instead were under the altar. (Revelation 6:9). These first-fruit saints paved the way for the rest of the harvest.
This first resurrection is considered "blessed and holy" in Revelation 20:6 because of their intimate first-fruit relationship with the risen Christ. Their proximity to the Holy Place rendered them priest of God and the Messiah and they became part of that first century symbolic 1000 year reign of Christ.
The second important truth inherent in the first-fruits figure is the readiness of the harvest to be gathered as signified in the offering of the first-fruits. The act of reaping had already begun, as seen in the (acceptance or gathering of the 144,00) "first-fruits (Revelation 14:1-5).
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the (Temple) the way into the Heaven or the Holiest of all was now made OPEN (Hebrews 9:8). It was then that the first-fruits reached perfection, and were accepted of God.
The harvest was now ready to be cut and gathered in (Revelation 14:14-20). This is a two-fold harvest scene with verse 14-16 applying to the righteous, and verse 17-20 referring to the wicked. This same harvest judgment was prophesied by the prophet Joel (Joel 3:12-17).
The (righteous harvest) were the dead saints in Christ from the Old Covenant. These were people like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Isaiah, and Daniel, etc, who died in faith, not of a time, still to come in our future. David demonstrated his faith and trust in God to delivered him from the depths of the grave. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave (Psalm 86:13 NIV).
Total fellowship to David was to be in the presence of God in the afterlife. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)
The time for death to be abolished had arrived (2 Timothy 1:10). These "Old Covenant saints" were the rest of the harvest, the general resurrection. Knowing this, we can appreciate why God said: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38).
The harvest, follows the ripening "perfecting and offering of the first-fruits." With the return of Christ and the destruction of temple, the way into God presence was now opened (Hebrew 9:8). The Hadean realm was emptied, and the Old Covenant saints, who were the harvest were gathered in the general resurrection in A.D.70. This is the second resurrection that John mentioned in the first part of verse 5 of chapter 20.
The charge by some that putting the resurrection in the past destroys faith is far removed from the truth in scripture. By putting the resurrection were it belongs in God’s scheme of redemption for Israel the believer today immediately enter into his eternal reward, in the heavenly’s.
One way to better understand the teaching of John's resurrection in Revelation 20:5 is to get a better grasp of the literary devices that are used by the writer to produce the desired results of the revelation he is seeking to unveil. One such device is chiasmas, which is a term that designates a literary figure or principle, which consist of "a placing crosswise" of words in a sentence or writing.
The term is used in rhetoric to designate an inversion of the order of words or phrases which are repeated or subsequently referred to in the sentence or writing.
The text is color coded to help you in your understanding of this technique. At my blog.
http://newjerusalemcommunity.blogspot.com/
ANGEL CAME DOWN
20.1 A. And I saw an angel coming down from heaven
KEY OF NON-CITY OF GOD
B. having the keys of the abyss
(ENCIRCLER IN HAND)
C. and a great chain in his hand
22.2 IDENTITY AND FOUR NAME COUNT
D. And he laid hold of the dragon
the old serpent (so named in garden of Eden)
which is the devil
And Satan (so named in (1 Chr.21:1)
20:3 E. SATAN BOUND TO DECEIVE NATIONS NO MORE UNTIL END OF 1000YEAR REIGN
and he bound him a thousand years
and he cast him into the abyss and shut it
and sealed it over him that he should deceive the nations no more
until should be finished the 1000 years
and after these things must he be loosed a little while
20:4 F THEY FROM FIRST RESURRECTION SAT AND GAVE JUDGMENT
and I saw thrones and they say upon them and judgment was given to them
and the souls of them that had been beheaded
for the testimony of Jesus
and for the Word of God
and such as worshiped not the beast neither his image
and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand
G. WHO LIVED IN100 YEAR PERIOD
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
20.5 G. WHO LIVED NOT IN 100 YEARS PERIOD
The rest of the dead did not live again until were finished the thousand years
F. THEY FROM FIRST RESURRECTION-JUDGMENT BASED ON IMPUTED
RIGHTEOUSNESS
this is the first resurrection
20.6 blessed and holy is the one
who has a part in the first resurrection
over these the second death has no power
they will be priest of God and of Christ.
and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
SATAN LOOSED TO DECEIVE NATIONS
20.7 E. When the thousand years are complete
Satan will be released
20.8 and will come out
to deceive the nations
IDENTITY AND CORNER COUNT OF NATIONS
20.8b D. which are in the four corners of the earth
Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war
the number of them is like the sand of the seashore
20.9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth
ENCIRCLEMENT OF CAMP
C. and surrounded the camp of the saints
O.T.CITY OF GOD
B. and the beloved city
FIRE CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN
A. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them
Chiasmus in Rev. 20, Verses 1-9 from the works of George R. Douglas, Jr. Esp/Bethesda,MD
If we are to understand the timing of the resurrection we must immerse ourselves in the first century Jewish understanding of the resurrection. What a difference it make when we read the Bible through their Jewish biblical concepts.
George Bush's War - End Times based
A French Revelation, or The Burning Bush
JAMES A. HAUGHT
Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse.
Honest. This isn’t a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God.
Now out of office, Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their “common faith” (Christianity) and told him: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…. This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.”
This bizarre episode occurred while the White House was assembling its “coalition of the willing” to unleash the Iraq invasion. Chirac says he was boggled by Bush’s call and “wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs.”
After the 2003 call, the puzzled French leader didn’t comply with Bush’s request. Instead, his staff asked Thomas Romer, a theologian at the University of Lausanne, to analyze the weird appeal. Dr. Romer explained that the Old Testament book of Ezekiel contains two chapters (38 and 39) in which God rages against Gog and Magog, sinister and mysterious forces menacing Israel. Jehovah vows to smite them savagely, to “turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,” and slaughter them ruthlessly. In the New Testament, the mystical book of Revelation envisions Gog and Magog gathering nations for battle, “and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
In 2007, Dr. Romer recounted Bush’s strange behavior in Lausanne University’s review, Allez Savoir. A French-language Swiss newspaper, Le Matin Dimanche, printed a sarcastic account titled: “When President George W. Bush Saw the Prophesies of the Bible Coming to Pass.” France’s La Liberte likewise spoofed it under the headline “A Small Scoop on Bush, Chirac, God, Gog and Magog.” But other news media missed the amazing report.
Subsequently, ex-President Chirac confirmed the nutty event in a long interview with French journalist Jean-Claude Maurice, who tells the tale in his new book, Si Vous le Répétez, Je Démentirai (If You Repeat it, I Will Deny), released in March by the publisher Plon.
Oddly, mainstream media are ignoring this alarming revelation that Bush may have been half-cracked when he started his Iraq war. My own paper, The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia, is the only U.S. newspaper to report it so far. Canada’s Toronto Star recounted the story, calling it a “stranger-than-fiction disclosure … which suggests that apocalyptic fervor may have held sway within the walls of the White House.” Fortunately, online commentary sites are spreading the news, filling the press void.
The French revelation jibes with other known aspects of Bush’s renowned evangelical certitude. For example, a few months after his phone call to Chirac, Bush attended a 2003 summit in Egypt. The Palestinian foreign minister later said the American president told him he was “on a mission from God” to defeat Iraq. At that time, the White House called this claim “absurd.”
Recently, GQ magazine revealed that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld attached warlike Bible verses and Iraq battle photos to war reports he hand-delivered to Bush. One declared: “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”
It’s awkward to say openly, but now-departed President Bush is a religious crackpot, an ex-drunk of small intellect who “got saved.” He never should have been entrusted with the power to start wars.
For six years, Americans really haven’t known why he launched the unnecessary Iraq attack. Official pretexts turned out to be baseless. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction after all, and wasn’t in league with terrorists, as the White House alleged. Collapse of his asserted reasons led to speculation about hidden motives: Was the invasion loosed to gain control of Iraq’s oil—or to protect Israel—or to complete Bush’s father’s vendetta against the late dictator Saddam Hussein? Nobody ever found an answer.
Now, added to the other suspicions, comes the goofy possibility that abstruse, supernatural, idiotic, laughable Bible prophecies were a factor. This casts an ominous pall over the needless war that has killed more than four thousand young Americans and cost U.S. taxpayers perhaps $1 trillion.
Kenneth Gentry's Latest Desperation
Don Preston has rock solid arguments; I appreciate Preston's heart in wanting dialogue with bitter, "your a heretic" types. This was posted on www.planetpreterist.com
I have written numerous articles interacting with Kenneth Gentry, one of the most outspoken critics of Covenant Eschatology today. He is also one of the most ardent advocates of postmillennialism. In my upcoming work on 1 Thessalonians 4:13f entitled We Shall Meet Him In the Air, The Wedding of the King of Kings, I do an in-depth analysis of Gentry’s hermeneutic. It appears to me personally that as time goes on, Gentry becomes more illogical and desperate in his attempts to respond to Covenant Eschatology. His argument addressed in this article is a prime example of that.
Dr. Gentry takes every opportunity to condemn preterists, but he refuses to actually engage in honorable discussions with preterists. Dr. Gentry has been challenged many times by numerous people, including myself, to meet me in formal public debate. It seems Dr. Gentry is always “too busy.” Anyone wishing to forward this article, with my invitation to formal debate, to Gentry, is more than welcome to do so. I have little hope that he will respond. Every time I have personally emailed him, even though he has opened the posts, he has not even given me the courtesy of a response. We can only hope that this will change.
A brother Ray West, forwarded to me, (6-9-09), a post by Gentry in which he once again takes a shot at preterists. The comments are from his own blog and review of his revised book He Shall Have Dominion. His book is advertised at (https://www.kennethgentry.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=432). I am informed that at this time (6-10-09), there is a problem with the Cart on his site however, so one would need to check with Dr. Gentry before purchasing through the website. Additional note. I have been informed that Gentry’s book can now be purchased from Amazon without risking the issues with Gentry’s site.
Dr. Gentry clearly thinks that he has found a fatal flaw in the preterist argument on Luke 21:22. Here is Mr. Gentry’s argument as I received it:
Begin quote:
In its context Luke 21:22 reads as follows: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Lk 21:20).
Inarguably, (sic) the context here is focusing on AD 70, as even dispensationalists agree.
The hyper-preterists naively assume that Jesus is speaking globally of absolutely all prophecies when he declares that “all things which are written” will be fulfilled in AD 70. They hold, therefore, that no prophecy remains, which means that prophecies regarding the resurrection of all men, the second coming, and more came to pass in AD 70. They base their argument on deficient hermeneutics. Note just one deadly observation against their approach: The grammar of the passage limits the declaration. Jesus speaks of “all things which are written” by employing a perfect passive participle: /gegrammena /(”having been written”). This refers to prophecies already written — when he speaks in AD 30. Yet we know that more prophecies arise later in the New Testament revelation.
Once again we see a limitation on Jesus’ statement. Furthermore, technically it does not even refer to any prophecy which Christ speaks. For these are not prophecies that have already been written. That being the case, the final resurrection (for instance) is outside of this declaration (Jn 5:28-29) http://net.bible.org/verse.php?book=joh&chapter=5&verse=28>–29).
Thus, Jesus is referring to all things written in the Old Testament. At this stage of redemptive history those are the only prophecies that had already been written. (end quote, DKP)
Quite frankly, I could hardly believe what I was reading from the pen of the erudite Dr. Gentry! He has engaged in numerous debates, and surely knows that one must be careful in making polemic arguments. The absolute desperation, the total failure of logic on the part of Dr. Gentry is glaring and egregious.
Let me summarize Dr. Gentry’s argument for ease of understanding.
Major Premise: When Jesus said (Luke 21:22), that “all things written must be fulfilled,” he referred only to those prophecies (and all of those prophecies), that had been written prior to his statement in A.D. 30.
Minor Premise: All New Testament prophecies of the resurrection (e.g. John 5:28f, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians, etc.), were written after A.D. 30.
Conclusion: Therefore, all New Testament prophecies of the resurrection were not part of the “all things that are written” that were to be fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Here is what Dr. Gentry concludes: “Thus, Jesus is referring to all things written in the Old Testament. At this stage of redemptive history those are the only prophecies that had already been written.”
Gentry’s “logic,” if such it can be called, fails on a number of points. However, I am going to keep this article to the barest minimum.
I will only make two points in response to Dr. Gentry’s amazing argument.
Argument #1– The New Testament prophecies of the resurrection are simply the reiteration of the Old Testament prophecies (things already written in A.D. 30).
Proof of this argument: I need only refer to the words of Paul. The apostle affirmed in the most unambiguous manner that his doctrine of the resurrection was nothing but that found in the Old Testament, i.e.in that which had already been written!
Acts 24:14-15: “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.”
Paul said his doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, for which he was on trial, was found in Moses and the Law and the prophets. That certainly qualifies as that which was written before A.D. 30.
Acts 26:21-23– “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”
Paul said he preached nothing, nothing but the hope of Israel found in Moses and the prophets. Do you catch the power of that?
Paul taught of the resurrection of the dead.
But, Paul did not preach anything but the hope of Israel found in Moses and the prophets.
Therefore, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was found in Moses and the prophets.
Romans 8:23– 9:1-4-- “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body... For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.”
The adoption, according to Paul, was the resurrection.
But, the promise of the adoption was given to, and belonged to, Israel after the flesh.
This means that the adoption, the promise of the resurrection, was from the Old Testament prophecies.
1 Corinthians 15:54-55-- “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
Paul cites Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 as the source of his resurrection doctrine in Corinthians.
Paul said that the resurrection would be when Isaiah 25 and Hosea 13:14 would be fulfilled.
Thus, the resurrection hope and doctrine of 1 Corinthians 15 was found in, and based on the Old Testament prophecies made to Israel.
From these texts, it is undeniable that the resurrection hope expressed by the New Testament writers was nothing other than a reiteration of what had already been written long ago in the Old Testament scriptures! This is fatal to Gentry’s argument and theology.
You simply cannot say that the New Testament prophecies of the resurrection are not grounded in and based on the Old Covenant prophecies. This is to deny Paul who said he preached nothing but the hope of Israel found in Moses and the prophets. 1 Corinthians 15 is not different from Isaiah 25 or Hosea 13:14, for Paul says that when the resurrection occurred, it would be the fulfillment of those prophecies. To say that 1 Corinthians 15 is the explication of those prophecies is not the same as saying that they are different from those prophecies.
You cannot say that all Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled at the A.D. 70 parousia of Christ, therefore, without affirming the fulfillment of all New Testament eschatology. There is no “new” eschatology in the New Testament. All New Testament eschatology is the anticipation of the imminent fulfillment of Old Testament promises. Period. This totally falsifies Gentry’s specious argument.
What is astounding to consider in light of Gentry’s argument above is that Gentry believes that the Old Testament did indeed predict the resurrection of the dead at the end of the Christian age! In his book, The Greatness of the Great Commission, (Tyler, Tx., Institute for Christian Economics, 1993)142, Gentry cites Daniel 12:2 as predictive of the resurrection “at the end of history.”
So, consider what this does for Dr. Gentry:
All Old Testament prophecy would be fulfilled by the time of, and in the events of the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. (Kenneth Gentry)
But, the Old Testament predicted the general resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:2, Kenneth Gentry)
Therefore, the general resurrection of the dead occurred in the events of the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
We have established point #1 beyond any possibility of refutation. This point alone totally destroys Gentry’s attempt at refuting Covenant Eschatology.
Argument #2– For argument sake therefore, I will most gladly accept Dr. Gentry’s own summary statement: “Thus, Jesus is referring to all things written in the Old Testament. At this stage of redemptive history those are the only prophecies that had already been written.” (My emphasis, DKP)
Consider then the following argument:
All things written in the Old Testament, i.e. all Old Testament prophecy, was fulfilled by the time of, and in the events of, the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. (Kenneth Gentry).
But, the Old Testament prophesied of the resurrection of the dead (Acts 24:14f; 26:6f; 26:21f, Romans 8:23-9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:55-56).
Therefore, the prophecies of the resurrection of the dead were fulfilled by the time of, and in the events of, the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
This argument is prima facie true.
It is incontrovertibly true that the Old Testament foretold the resurrection of the dead. Kenneth Gentry agrees.
It is irrefutably true that all New Testament prophecies of the resurrection are drawn from and the reiteration of the Old Testament prophecies.
It is undeniable that Jesus said that all things written would be fulfilled by the time of, and in the events of the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Kenneth Gentry is correct in affirming that all Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled at / in A.D. 70. And this proves, beyond refutation, that the resurrection of the dead came at the dissolution of the Old Covenant age of Israel in A.D. 70.
Incidentally, it would do no good for Mr. Gentry, or anyone else, to amend his statement and argue that all that Jesus really meant was that all Old Covenant prophecies concerning the fall of Jerusalem were to be fulfilled in A.D. 70. (You will note that Gentry made no attempt to limit the scope of the Old Covenant prophecies to be fulfilled in A.D. 70. He said emphatically, “Jesus is referring to all things written in the Old Testament”).
The indisputable fact is that in the Old Testament the resurrection of the dead is repeatedly posited at the destruction of Old Covenant Israel. Note a couple of examples.
Isaiah 25:1-8– “O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2 For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be diminished. 6 And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well–refined wines on the lees. 7 And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”
Note that in the day that YHVH would destroy death, it would also be when He made the city a desolation, and turned the temple over to foreigners! The city under consideration is the “city of confusion” in chapter 24:10f, Ariel, i.e. Jerusalem. So, Isaiah emphatically posits the resurrection at the time of Jerusalem’s demise.
In chapter 26:19-21, the Lord predicted the resurrection at the time when YHVH would come out of heaven and avenge the blood of the martyrs. Of course, Jesus was emphatically clear that all of the righteous blood of all the saints, shed on the earth, would be avenged in the judgment of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Matthew 23:34f).
In Isaiah 27:1f, we find the destruction of Leviathan, the enemy of God, defeated in the day that the Lord would come, the Day of 26:19f, i.e. the day of the resurrection. And, this Day of the Lord would also be when the people that YHVH had created would no longer receive mercy, and He would turn the altar to chalkstones (Isaiah 27:9f). Thus, again, the resurrection is clearly placed in the context of the judgment of Jerusalem and Israel.
Likewise, the very passage that Gentry appeals to for the resurrection at the end of the age, Daniel 12:2, says that the resurrection would be, “when the power of the holy people is completely shattered” (Daniel 12:2-7). See my book, Seventy Weeks Are Determined...For the Resurrection, for a full discussion of this fact. There are in fact several O.T. passages that posit the resurrection in the context of the judgment of Israel.
The point of course is that it will do Gentry no good whatsoever to now say that all that Jesus really meant to say was “these be the days of vengeance in which all things that are written about the fall of Jerusalem will be fulfilled.” On one level, we could agree with this, for as it has been demonstrated, the fall of Jerusalem was in fact to be the time of the resurrection!
So, Gentry boasts that the “hyper-preterists” make a “naive” claim about Luke 21:22. He says we are guilty of “deficient hermeneutics.” He claims to have made a “deadly observation” against the preterist argument. In fact, Gentry has exposed his own desperation and his own naive and deficient hermeneutic. We have made what is in fact “a deadly observation” in response to Gentry’s specious argument.
Kenneth Gentry has, through his own argument, destroyed his postmillennial, futurist eschatology. He has actually confirmed the truthfulness of “hyper-preterism!” Perhaps there is no need for Mr. Gentry to publically debate Covenant Eschatology after all (although my invitation remains valid), for the more he writes, the more he confirms that Christ’s “Second Coming” and the prophecies of the resurrection were fulfilled in A.D. 70. (I suspect that in a fourth revision of Dr. Gentry’s book, he will modify or delete his comments on Luke 21:22. It will be interesting to see, will it not?)
------
Don Preston is a columnist for PlanetPreterist.com. Don is an advocate of Covenant Eschatology and the author of eight titles on the preterist view of prophecy, including Who is This Babylon? a book that has received a positive scholarly review.
Change of platform?
I really don't like the new wordpress platform www.willnotdelay.wordpress.com, so I may not use it. I'm going to change this blog theme however, let me know what you think.
Part 3 of BCS Review
Final thought on local flood vs global flood
In my last post (Part 2 of this review) I discussed some of the pros and cons concerning a local flood and a global flood. It must be stated that one of the obvious reasons for leaning against a local flood comes from God Himself. In Genesis 9:11, God says, "never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth". Now remember BCS believes the word "earth" here means land, ground or country rather than the whole planet. So if God promises to never present a local flood again, and if BCS applies this consistently, then there has never been large, local floods on the earth since Noah. Is this true? No, there has been huge local floods over the centuries that has destroyed livestock, drowned people and devastated land and property. I suppose BCS would rationalize this away by saying God promised never to being a local flood again that would destroy all flesh in a particular region. However, this again leads to endless speculation as to what the size of a local flood should be which matches Noah's and how much devastation is needed in order to "destroy" a local region. Is it not simpler to accept that God is speaking about a world -wide flood that will never happen again?
Biological Death and Evolution
One of the strangest conclusions of the authors of BCS occurs in chapter 11 of their book where they challenge the belief of biological death being the result of the curse on Adam. In their view, the fall did not affect the earth nor the ecosystems but just Adam and his descendants. It others words, the fall is man-centered but not earth-centered. So biological death was in the world prior to the fall of Adam. Another strange fact is BCS never defines for us what they mean by biological death!! If eating a leafy vegetable or a fruit from a tree is an example of biological death, then I agree, there was death before the fall. But if we define biological death as the actual death of a living soul with flesh and blood, then the Bible suggests that this occurred after the fall. BCS states that if a global flood radically altered much of the topography and climate of the earth, then young earth creationists must believe in hyper-evolution in order to explain how animals could specially adapt to harsh climate conditions like the arctic and many of our deserts. They illustrate this by asking, "Did some bear-like ancestor from the ark just have a hankering for this new cold climate and migrate into the new arctic, adapting rapidly as it trudged north?" No true young earth creationist would ever claim to believe in hyper-evolution but would grant that microevolution(adaption and genetic variation) has taken place. Granted, BCS asks the same questions that have been troubling both evolutionists and creationists for centuries. Science (which the Bible agrees with here) does seem to suggest that the Earth did have a different climate at one time. So how did both these harsh climate regions and the animals that live in them come about? The evolutionist would respond -through the mechanism of evolution and millions of years. The young - earth creationist would say adaptation, genetic code variation, and micro-evolution (a word that BCS does not use). BCS does not explain to us how these animals came about but one can deduce from their writings that these animals existed prior to the flood and were not destroyed by the flood, since to BCS, it was a local flood anyway. Inevitably BCS has to come to an old - earth perspective in which millions of years are necessary for the great climate changes and diversity of species that we see in our present world.
BCS presents three graphs to illustrate three different views as to the progression of the creation to our present world to Revelation 21 and 22. BCS holds to the third view and can be found on page 210, the other views are on pages 200 and 209. Views one and two represent young and old earth creationism respectively. In reality the only difference between view two of old-earth creationists and view three of BCS is that BCS views the world of Revelation 21 and 22 as equivalent(fulfilled) to the world of today rather than a world that is yet to come.
The Effects of the Curse
The main problem with BCS's thesis of biological death happening before the fall is that the Bible appears to suggest the opposite. Ironically (I say this because they scoff at young - earth creationists who challenge the illusion of the great age of the universe), BCS goes to great length to defeat this illusion and to prove their thesis. In chapters 11 and 12, which deals with this issue, there are no Scriptures given by BCS that clearly supports their thesis. They bring up the warning of God in Genesis 2:17, "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" as evidence physical death had to exist outside the boundaries of the garden in order to serve as a spiritual warning to Adam. Otherwise, Adam could not understand at all what God meant by "die". This is an argument from logic not Scripture. They then go to Adam's naming of the animals to prove, indirectly, that animals did eat one another before the fall. For example, the word for "lion" in Hebrew means "violent", the word for "hawk" means "tearing". So BCS deduces that Adam observed these characteristics in these animals which is why he gave them these names. I will address this later but again BCS is using logic to prove their point, no direct Scripture. They do this as well with other Scriptures where they take similes and extrapolate from them proofs of the physical world prior to the fall. They come finally to a New Testament text when they address the passage of Romans 8: 20 - 22 (pages 234 - 236) where Paul suggests that the whole creation was subject to the fall. This is an important passage and BCS has to address it if their view is correct. Here, they appear to contradict themselves. They agree with Whitcomb and Morris that Paul is referring to the time when God placed the curse on creation at Adam's fall; yet they state earlier in the chapter that the fall did not cause a radical physical transformation in our world. Remember, BCS believes that biological death occurred prior to the fall. So we are left to ponder what part of the curse did come upon the creation. What is the creation groaning about? What is this "deliverance" from the" bondage of corruption" that the creation will one day be granted? It appears that Paul is clearly teaching about the physical universe. Ah, not so fast, says BCS. Incredibly, BCS states that the word for "creation" in Romans 8: 20 - 22 is referring to God's people, "The creation, the entire body of God's covenant people, was being 'brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God'"(page 354). I do not know of any reputable commentary (outside of possible preterists) who take this view. The Greek word here for creation is ktisis which literally means "the act of creating, or the creative act in process . . . . it also signifies the product of the creative act(Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). We see this word in Romans 1, verses 20 ("since the creation of the world") and verse 25 where Paul states that one of the attributes of ungodliness is to worship the "creature" rather than the "Creator" . Clearly Paul is referring to non-covenant people here in Romans chapter 1 for he argues the gospel is the power of God to salvation to the Jew first and also the Greek prior to his comments in verses 20 and 25.
Radical Transformations
So, exactly what was and is the curse that God put upon mankind? BCS would tell us the idea of animals eating each other has nothing to do with the curse. They may be right. I don't know. However, Genesis appears to suggest that maybe all animals were herbivores prior to the fall. We read in chapter one, verse 30, "Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food and it was so". Strangely, BCS never addresses this verse. Again, we must not succumb to the temptation of imposing what we see in the natural world today upon the world of Adam and Eve. It is possible that animals eating each other has nothing to do with the curse but with what God imposed or allowed after the flood. We read, after the flood, in Genesis 9:3 that " every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs." It is here that God adds a stipulation, man is not to eat flesh with blood in it. We have another clue that the animals were possibly affected by the curse when we read what God said to the serpent. He said that the serpent was "cursed more that all cattle, and more than every beast of the field." This suggests, and I am not dogmatic about this, even the cattle and beasts were cursed but the serpent was more so. Even the serpent was to undergo a radical transformation. He would now go on his belly! What the serpent was in the garden, we don't know. We do know that it could talk and that Satan either was the serpent or used the serpent. Many think that the snake today which crawls on its belly is the serpent of the garden. It is true Adam named the animals but we are not given any example of these names. It is entirely possible that different names were given to animals, after the fall or the flood, who were no longer herbivores. I am not sure about this but we have a clue in Nimrod. We are not told that Adam or his sons or Noah and his sons were hunters prior to the flood. But after the flood, we read that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord - Genesis 10:8,9. The only name Adam gives us is the one he gave his wife. He actually named her twice!! He called her woman and named her Eve. That the curse was upon mankind all agree. What BCS and others disagree on is whether the curse was upon all biological creation and the universe. I find it strange that BCS does not believe any radical transformation occurred to the physical world (page 212) because of the fall. How does one explain the plain language of the text in Genesis 3: 17 - 19. Do we not have thorns and thistles in our world today? Does not mankind live on bread - the herb of the field - due to much effort and sweat? Do we not become dust eventually? Are these not radical physical transformations, if we consider man was meant to live forever in a beautiful garden? The increase in pain in child bearing has to be radical if the curse is a curse. Even the balance and equality of the man and woman will be changed as the man would rule over the woman. And, don't these physical transformations affect us all, not just covenant people? This had to be so in order for Christ to be the Savior and Redeemer of all people - whether male or female, Jew or Gentile. There is something else here that is not mentioned in the fall, the word, sin. Now it is mentioned by God to Cain concerning the anger of Cain towards his brother, Abel. Paul tells us that "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). So in light of what Paul says to us, we must go back and re-examine the curse. The curse tells us that a disease was passed upon all mankind after Adam sinned, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive" (I Cor. 15:22). This disease is the sinful nature which passed upon all mankind. I can't think of a more radical transformation than to see the effects of sin. We get a glimpse of it prior to the flood, "So God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth" Genesis 6:12. The radical transformation that took place in the physical world was so much that Lamech named his son, Noah, for he hoped that this boy would give them comfort from the work and toil of their hands because of the ground which the Lord has cursed - Genesis 5:29. The other radical transformation that happened due to the fall is that Christ (the Seed of a woman) would have to leave the glory He had with the Father and become flesh so that we all could have the gift of eternal life which Adam and Eve lost in the garden. Paul puts it this way, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" - Ephesians 1: 4, 5, and "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" - Philippians 2:7, 8.
Could Jesus Die Even Without Sinning
I need to rebut BCS's view that Jesus would have experienced biological death at some point in his life because he was human, even though he had not sinned (see page 225). BCS is correct when they say that Jesus paid the true penalty for Adam's sin when He was cut off from fellowship and communion with God the Father. However, Jesus became sin who know no sin (2 Cor 5:21), thusly, He paid the price of both the Law and the curse put upon Adam - the double penalty: biological death and separation from His Father. For that matter Adam himself is a type of Christ (Romans 5:14). He not only died a biological death but he also faced separation from God as God banished him from the garden. So the second Adam had to face a biological death and to taste the eternal separation that we all deserved. We are not saved from biological death but from the second penalty - which is eternal separation from the Father. As Paul put it, " but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" - 2 Timothy 1:10. Christ did not come to abolish biological death but to bring to light that eternal death, eternal separation is now removed through Him.
Well, I have gone long again. Very difficult to adequately review this book in a short fashion. I did not get to how BCS views the early chapters of Genesis as biblical apocalyptic language rather than straight prose or historical narrative. An example of their thinking on this is page 274 where they state, "Many who clamor for a 'scientific' literal reading of Genesis forget that Genesis comes to us from the original authors through Moses the prophet". BCS suggests to us that since prophecy is in the early chapters of Genesis (such as 3:15) then that is a hint the creation account should be read according to a prophetic literary style. Due to the importance of this subject, I will do a Part 4 of this review in order to cover this ground.
Summary
1. When God promised not to send a flood on the earth to destroy all flesh, He must have been talking about a global flood not a local flood as there have been many large local floods on the earth after Noah.
2. BCS believes that biological death was here prior to the fall and that the curse was not earth - centered but man-centered. No definition of biological death is given by BCS. They accuse young-earth creationists of believing in hyper-evolution in order to explain how animals could have adapted to climate changes. However, young-earth creationists have always accepted micro-evolution - a word that BCS does not use.
3. BCS uses logic rather than clear Biblical texts to prove that death had to happen before the fall. They do not believe any radical physical transformations affected the earth after the fall. Yet, we have many Biblical texts which suggests the opposite. BCS claims that the word, "creation" in Romans 8:20-22 refers to God's covenant people. Yet, the literal meaning of the word and other texts would suggest that Paul is referring to the whole product of the creative act of the Creator.
4. There were radical transformations after the fall. The Bible even suggests transformations after the flood. The most severe transformation was God's plan to present the Christ in physical form to undo the damage that was done in the garden.
5. Jesus died to fulfill the Law but also to undo the curse given by God, not upon creation nor the animals, but the curse upon mankind. While the creation does groan for its redemption, Christians will not have to face the second penalty for sin. Adam was a type of Christ, in that he faced a double penalty: physical death and separation from God. Jesus had to die physically, who became sin, so that all of us would not have to face the second penalty - eternal separation from God.
