Why I am Not a Preterist: Part 5

Why I am Not a Preterist: Part 5

Revelation 20:2-4 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

·      Jesus has bound Satan during the 1000 years

·      Satan is in prison

·      So that…he cannot deceive the nations

·      Those who had been beheaded (killed) for Jesus are now alive and reigning with Christ during the 1000 years.

In view of the above, how can we possibly be living in the Millennium now as Preterists/Partial-Preterists acclaim? In the Book of Acts people still had demons cast out of them. If Satan is in prison, how could demons be cast out of people? Furthermore, in view of verse 3, Satan is also, during these 1000 years, unable to deceive the nations (ethnos: people groups) any longer. We must then conclude that Satan nor his demons are deceiving anyone currently. That takes a lot of NT scriptures out of play. For example, Ephesians 6:16 which states that we can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one with the Sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. If the devil is bound, then there aren’t any of his fiery darts shooting at us.

Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 is also no longer valid. Yes, if Satan is bound we would still need to forgive, but the warning concerning Satan taking advantage of Christians would be out of play. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

And then there are scriptures like Mark 16:17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues…” which would also be in the past. No Satan: no demons. Would that then also throw verse 18 into the past, “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover”? No current verse 17, then no current verse 18. Meaning, if we no longer need to cast out demons, then do we still lay hands on the sick?

If these 1000 years are what we are living in now, the Millennium, as Preterists claim, then demons being cast out or bound or warned about or deceiving or twisting scriptures is nothing we need be concerned with.

Seems foolish.

Jesus’ Kingdom is manifested wherever the power of the Holy Spirit is present. Jesus said “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20) We get to be a part of “Thy Kingdom Come” now in limited measure. We do this as we work with the Holy Spirit, under His authority, manifesting His Kingdom through laying hands on the sick, casting out demons, prayer, and the like.

There will be a day when Jesus’ Kingdom comes to earth, when Jesus’ Throne is in Jerusalem, when He rules and reigns with His people for 1000 years, but that time has not yet come. 

Abounding in Love

Abounding in Love

I love teaching. Well, more accurately, I love good theological teaching: biblical doctrine; real theology. Anointed biblical teaching excites me and makes me want to study the Bible myself. It acts as a race’s starting line. The announcer calls, “on your marks, get set, go!” And I'm off and running my race, as it were, through the Scriptures.

Sadly though, I hear many today, and seemingly it’s been since the beginning of the church, say that doctrine divides and we need to just love. I believe this is wrong. It grieves the Holy Spirit, and yet, it is believed by so many.

Following is a small exegesis of Philippians 1:9-11, “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Consider the words of Paul as inspired by our beloved Holy Spirit.

Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more” Doesn’t that just sound so good! Love abounding! That’s what we want. After all Jesus said they would know we are Christians by our love, right? Well, let’s continue…

“in real knowledge” Wait, what? How did that get in there? Love abounding in real knowledge? I thought it was just about loving each other?

“and all discernment” All discernment too…?

So love abounding in real knowledge and all discernment… that’s right. Paul is saying that love [real love] abounds in real knowledge and discernment. The Greek for “knowledge” is “precise and correct knowledge used in the NT of the knowledge of things ethical and divine” and “all discernment” is “perception, not only by the senses but by the intellect 2) cognition, discernment 2a) of moral discernment in ethical matters.”

So it appears that love abounds when real knowledge is anchored with intellectual discernment. Preceding is verse 8 where Paul states that his affection for them, the Philippians, is of Christ. Meaning that Paul’s desire for them to abound in love through real knowledge and intellectual discernment is given by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continuing on in Philippians 1, Paul says that as we abound in real knowledge and intellectual discernment we will then be able to “approve the things that are excellent” and this will lead to [being] “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ…” And on that day of Christ “filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ…”

Let’s work through this with us—the church of today—in mind.

The greenhouse for abounding love is real correct knowledge of Jesus Christ through the Bible. That we overflow with real love in increasing measure is the will of God. As we have real correct knowledge of Christ and His word we will then be able to discern intellectually whether or not what we are experiencing or learning is accurate. Why is this so? Correct knowledge is Bible based—Scriptures learned in their correct context and application.

Colossians 1 has the same message and uses the same language, 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it [your love in the Spirit (v8)], we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge [same Greek word] of His will in all spiritual wisdom (note wisdom and understanding are in conjunction with “spiritual”) [wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters] and understanding [paraphrased —to set or join together in the mind]10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge [same word] of God…”

The flow is that in order to fully please God we must be spiritually minded in order to put things together in such a way that we will correctly know His will. This process will lead to fully pleasing God and bearing fruit…and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Paul’s heart is again expressed in Colossians 1:28, Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Note how Paul’s understanding of mature Christianity is based upon teaching about Christ. And not teaching for the sake of teaching and learning alone. No, rather, it is for the sake of have a “precise and correct knowledge” resulting in pleasing God and knowing Christ.

He Restores My Soul

He Restores My Soul

We all probably can recite Psalm 23 by heart. It is a short yet powerful window into the Heart of God. I imagine David sitting on a high ravine near Jerusalem. Possibly David had just returned from a battle as he looked over the landscape scattered with sheep. The sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. David begins to reflect. It brings him back into his childhood when he would have been the shepherd watching over his flock; little ones bouncing around playing. This is the way I envision Psalm 23.

David weary from the battles and the pains of life ponders the LORD. He knows the LORD, His goodness, His care. David is raw inside, battle weary. With tears streaming down his cheeks He reflect with the LORD. He remembers his youth. His care for his sheep comes back into view. He remembers rescuing the lamb from the bear and then when the lion attacked... He pauses and reflects. He remembers how he continuously led his sheep to the best meadows; the greenest pastures. He begins to feel his heart beat more rapidly. He considers the sheep. David feels the Presence of the LORD as the sunrise warms the landscape and his countenance… maybe it was the LORD who initiated this whole morning interacting with his thoughts? David recognized Him. This was the LORD.

In the midst of David’s reflection he breathes out and whispers, “The LORD, He is my shepherd.” He looks over the hills and valleys at the lush green grass; the sheep feeding under the care of their shepherd, “I shall never want.” David knows how shepherds think. He reflects again on how he loved his sheep and how much more the LORD loved him. Now in the midst and impact of his encounter with the LORD, David begins to sing. As he sings his heart burns as he feels the Presence of the LORD, “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” David’s words begin to quiver, tears pouring, David bends over and then stands gazing towards the sunrise. He lifts his head to the LORD, his arms raised high… “He restores my soul.”

David remembers how the LORD saved him from his enemies. How He led him when he was pursued by Saul. How He cared for him… and the cave. Oh the cave… As he reflects upon Adullam; a painful joy saturates his thoughts. The pain of Saul—a man, no more than a man—David’s king and the LORD’s anointed. David had loved King Saul and his son, Jonathan. Saul’s anger, rather his jealousy, had made the king mad. Saul’s spears didn’t pierce David’s flesh, but they did penetrate his heart. As David reflects he again begins to sing. This time about a valley of shadows looming with death. And the many times he avoided death, no… reconsidering his thoughts… the many times the LORD protected him from death and evil. Now David considers how it played a part in who he had become. Those arrows—every one of them—though in the hand of Saul, were really only in the hand of God. God guided each of them away from David. And God used them to chisel and forge David’s character. Ultimately they forced him to Adullam. David’s training continued in Adullam—a place where God had prepared him a table. A place prepared by God for a time. David lacked nothing. In fact, many of his leaders were brought to him while in Adullam. David found himself quite satisfied as he continued to muse with the LORD that morning.

As we read though the many stories of David, his victories and defeats, we see God in the story-line. Sometimes overtly, other times a bit more hidden. But, nonetheless, God is always present working the plan for His beloved David.

David’s stories are magnificent. We love to read them. And as we do we find ourselves… and God. We find ourselves battle-weary. We find ourselves in our own caves, our own family issues, our own friends… and enemies. Sometimes we are also dodging spears launched at us from a hand who was at one time our friend.

We love to find God. Moreover, God loves to reveal Himself in the story-line of our life.

Sure most of us don’t take up arms in combat as David did. But our warfare and battles are real nonetheless. And they can take a toll on our souls. Let Him restore—let Him repair your soul. Let Him prepare your table in the presence of your enemies where your cup overflows.

Find solace with the LORD—your Shepherd. Then pick up your sword to fight another day.