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It's hard to believe there was ever a time when all people on earth thought the earth was flat. Before scientific proof to
the contrary, Galileo was formally condemned to house arrest for entertaining the 'ridiculous notion' that the earth revolved
around the sun, and denounced as an anti-scriptural heretic! Now we know this "heresy" to be true, beyond a shadow
of a doubt.
Preterists find themselves in the same situation today, because some go so far as to say preterism is heresy. Preterism
means past in fulfillment, and we believe the 2nd Coming of Christ already occurred. This belief is certainly within the
pale of orthodoxy, and I believe that in the next hundred or so years, it will be the predominant eschatological view!
Today, the common belief among Christians is that Jesus will return in our lifetime, or at least some time in the future.
I believe this 'futurism' is a "flat earth" mentality, one that seems to be true because it is commonly taught and
accepted by the majority of believers. Once a belief is inculcated in us, we see everything else through that filter, or
belief window.
As an example, if you are a futurist, how do you interpret the following Scriptures?
"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." - Ephesians 3:21
Ecclesiastes 1:4 "A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever."
"He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever." - Psalm 104:5
It's conflicting with your idea that the earth will be destroyed at the 2nd Coming, right? Well, one of them must be
wrong. Either Scripture - or your belief.
May I submit to you that we don't fully understand the nature of the 2nd Coming, its purpose and its significance.
Consider this... why do the orthodox Jews still await their Messiah? Because they assumed that He would come as a king,
and not a suffering servant. They were looking for a physical king to sit on a physical throne. Did they miss their Savior,
the little miracle born in the stable in Bethlehem? Yes. And they're still waiting for Him to come the first time, because
they didn't understand the nature of the 1st Coming, its purpose and its significance.
Like these precious Jews, we are still looking for something that already happened.
Traditions and creeds won't back up the preterist view. But the Bible will. Knowledge, traditions and creeds do change over
periods of time, but the Bible remains true.
However, many people don't really know how to study the Bible, and we read Scripture as if it is today's mail! I struggled
with this for many years until I came across R.C. Sproul's book, Knowing Scripture. I highly recommend this book for
everyone who takes God at His Word.
A very important principle of Biblical interpretation is "audience relevance." This means that we have to consider who the
letters of the Bible were directly written to, and we must put ourselves in their shoes, in their culture, in their time,
and think of how they would have understood and applied the message.
Though the Bible is a supernatural book inspired by God, which will always speak to people of every age, our generation is
not the one it is directly addressed to. It was written TO them... FOR all generations. So the next time you open your Bible,
try reading it as though you've opened 2,000 year old mail, because that's exactly what you're doing!
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