Preterism is one of the reasons that no prophecy is subject to private interpretation. It is an example of teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of God.
Having discussed the relative merits of Preterism with its advocates, the chief problem one runs into is the great numbers of unfulfilled prophecies still staring man in the face. It’s foundation is based largely on John’s Apocalypse, which begins with the problematic passage: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
Just a few verses later, he writes: “Behold, [the Lord] cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.”
Preterists reason that since these things were to shortly come to pass, they then must have already happened. The problem, of course, is that it didn’t happen; then or ever.
So how do Christians deal with this? First, since it’s inspired prophecy, it must have already happened in a way we don’t understand. Or, that the text was altered by overzealous scribes, which may be one of the reasons it was rejected by the Orthodox Christians. In this case the entire work would be corrupted and essentially useless.
A third option is that it was written specifically for those in the latter days — the only people who would be in a position to understand John’s words. I personally opt for this option. John wrote it to show “unto [the Lord’s] servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Thus, to those who lived in our day. Why would this interpretation be preferable to the others? Because John was present with the Lord throughout his ministry and knew the things that needed to come to pass before his coming with the clouds of heaven. For example:
- The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by the Romans, something that had already come to pass.
- The scattering of Judah to nations of the earth, something which was taking place when he wrote these words.
- The Great Apostasy, in which the church would cease to exist among men. John, himself, indicated it would be generations in which the church, represented by a woman, would be caught away to escape the destruction of Satan.
- Its Restoration to the earth and the coming of Elijah. Some believed this to be John the Baptist, and fulfilled in the time of Jesus; however, John did not turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and vice versa. Besides, when comparing John to Elijah, as a forerunner, Jesus affirmed that “Elijah must return and restore all things.”
- Judah’s return to its ancestral homeland. This is presaged throughout the scriptures, both old and new testaments. King David prophesied this in Psalm 83:
Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot.
This prophecy is one that would have stunned the followers of Edgar Cayce or Nostradamus (had they the foresight to utter it), but it has come to pass in our day. The ancient lands mentioned in this prophecy are the very nations that have combined against Israel. And their chief argument against the Jewish state is that it has no right to exist. In no other age of man — in no other point in history — has this prophecy seen fulfillment. In the past, the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Turks have all vied for Jerusalem and claimed it as theirs. But in no case has Israel’s neighbors, when it was a state, ever before has sought to destroy it as a nation as it is doing now. And at the heart of it is a seething hatred of God, who has not cast off his people. Allah is not the God of Israel, but is the god of the Beast of Revelation, which is the dragon (Satan). Its great prophet stated, “The Hour [Day of Resurrection] will not arrive until you fight the Jews, until a Jew will hide behind a rock or tree and the rock and the tree will say: ‘Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’”
Fanatical Muslims aren’t known for building beautiful cities, doing charitable work and furthering their religion in a way that would reflect love, tolerance, education and history. Their people tend to live in rubble, the cause of which is repeated war and jihad.
Preterism denies the incredible prophecies of things yet to be. When Ezekiel writes of Gog, the leader of an immense army that comes against Jerusalem in the latter days, the Lord asks Gog directly: Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? Preterists would have a tough time pointing to the fulfillment of an event that the prophets of Israel foretold when it clearly has not yet happened. Ezekiel quotes the Lord as saying that Gog would go up against “the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations.” That can only be referring to Judah and Israel. The Lord also states that Israel “is brought forth out of the nations.” Again, the nations that will combine against Jerusalem: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.” These nations again correspond to the modern nations that now surround Israel.
There are many, many more prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. Zechariah is another prophet who described the great war against Israel in the “in the latter years” when the Beast “shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste….”
The “latter years” that the Lord speaks of in Ezekiel is our day. The Jews have been gathered out of all nations and despite what the Palestinians contend, when the Jews began gathering back to Judea, the land was a dusty wasteland. Only after the Jews brought their wealth and built up the wasteland, as the scriptures foretold, did their Muslim neighbors begin to covet it. And after Gog’s defeat, Ezekiel writes, “I [will] make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:7)
Clearly, these and many other prophecies have not yet come to pass, so how can any Preterist gain a foothold in the scriptures when confronted with the above? Amos wrote, “For surely the Lord God will do nothing, save he reveal his secrets to his servants, the prophets.” (Amos 3:7) And since the world continued on after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, he must have meant the prophecies to extend to the latter times.
Why Islam is the Antichrist
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.....“In the Name of Allah!”
