Copyright © Brad M. Baker
All Rights Reserved
November 26/2024
1 This article is about some of the main reasons why Full Preterist believe that Jesus second appearing happened in the first century. 2 Lets first take a look at a few of the main reasons why there is confusion within Christianity about Full Preterism. 3 The mainline view within Christendom has been around since 1830 which is the Adventist Christian view. 4 They believe in a future coming of the Lord and at that time everyone will be raised from the dead with a physical body. 5 Then Jesus will reign in a physical/material Kingdom here on a new Earth for a 1000 years after the Universe is totally destroyed by fire. 6 Sounds unbelievable yet most all Christians have this faith which can be very dangerous especially when politicians get involved shaping the way the world is to go. 7 If they believe the universal will be destroyed very soon then why not go out full nuclear war seeing that the world will be destroyed anyway. 8 Very few have opened there eyes to what the scriptures really mean. 9 Here are a few of the main verses that are either misunderstood, over-looked, or twisted with a false narrative.
10 In Luke 17:20 this gives us an indication that God’s Kingdom is in the unseen Spiritual realm which is also applied to many other verses within the Bible.
Luke 17:20Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;
11 According to: 1 Corinthians 15:50 it rules out any possibility that our physical bodies can inherit the Kingdom of God, yet many twist it’s meaning and use other scriptures to back it up what they say. 12 Yet you can not deny what 1 Corinthians 15:50 says and get away with it. 13 People will be held accountable for every idle word they say in the afterlife when they die and face judgment whether good for their rewards or the bad news of being cast into the Lake of Fire that was prepared for the Devil and his Angels.
1 Corinthians 15:50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
Matthew 12:36But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
14 Another misunderstanding is in the last enemy to be destroyed was death, so people twist this to mean physical death; but notice here in 1 Corinthians 15:55 how this last enemy is connected to Hades; the NKJV and Young’s Literal Translation uses Hades instead of death, all other translations use the word death, but the two were very much associated with each other. The KJV uses the word grave.
1 Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 So what does Hades mean…? Hades or Shelo was a place where disembodied should slept until the day of resurrection. 16 Almost everyone who lived from Adam to Christ’s resurrection went to Hades after they physically died.
17 After Christ rose from the dead others were raised with Christ as seen in Matthew 27:51-53. When Christ Ascended into Heaven. 18 The Full Preterist IBV Worldview believe that Christ was raptured without tasted physical death like Enoch and the first century saints or that He Ascended into Heaven He became a Life Giving Spirit. 19 Most of the Collective Body View Full Preterist do not believe in a physical or Spiritual body resurrection.
2 Corinthians 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
1 Corinthians 15: 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
20 In other words Christ body had to be transformed from physical into a Spiritual body like what the Angels have in Heaven. 21 Futuristic Advent Christians and many Partial Preterist do not believe Christ changed into a Spiritual body. 22 They believe that He kept His physical body when He Ascended into Heaven, but some will say a physical/Spiritual body that is super natural which would explain how He can appear and disappear like the Angels do.
23 Full Preterist believe that Hades was cast into the Lake of Fire, and that when we die now post AD70, we go to be with the Lord in Heaven. 24 So that means death has no longer a sting to it and Hades has no power over anyone now, yet many Full Preterist believe this only applies to believers in Christ and have a Church Only View, but many other Full Preterist believe it applies to the whole creation that have a Worldview.
25 You can notice how these words are all connected to death and Hades being cast into the Lake of Fire in 1 Corinthians 15:53-56. 26 Sin and the Old Covenant laws, and Hades would have had to be taken away, when the Old Covenant was taken away at the end of the Age when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.
1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
27 The last enemy that was destroyed was the first death which was Hades.
1 Corinthians 15:“24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.”
28 There should be no problem with understanding this was fulfilled by the end of the Old Covenant Age. 29 Those who consider those scriptures not yet fulfilled will have a forever ongoing problem for the next 4.5 billion years saying Christ has not defeated the last enemy yet in a never ending 1000 years because people will still die physically and aways will. 30 They would also have to deny that Christ sat on His throne in the unseen Spiritual realm since He Ascended into Heaven 40 days after He was resurrected from the dead.
31 All dominion, authority and power were in the unseen Spiritual realm, and the last enemy to be destroyed was death and all those things were under the Old Covenant. 32 Hades was cast into the Lake of Fire in AD70 which was the first death and the last enemy before the new death took its place. With all things being made new there should be no problem seeing Hades was replaced with the Lake of Fire which is the second death. 33 Sadly this goes through one ear and out the other in favour for traditional creedal doctrines that people have known all their lives even though Peter made it clear the end of all things was at hand and He who sat on the throne said “Behold, I make all things new.”
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Revelation 21:5Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
34 The Preterist view stands out as meaning what was fulfilled in the past and perhaps Matthew 16:27-28 is the most compelling scripture that makes people think whether their previous Futuristic Christian Adventist views need to be reviewed for a consideration. 35 I highly recommend people who are wondering about it to read the full chapters around the verses of scriptures I have here to get the full picture of the context was that was written down.
Matthew 10:23When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
Matthew 24:34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
36 The Full Preterist view does not deny the fact that Jesus was speaking to some of those standing there front in front of Him that they would see Him coming in the glory of His father before they would taste death.
The Unseen Spiritual Realm:
37 The key to understanding Jesus Christ coming in the glory of His father needs to be viewed from how the Father came in His glory from the Old Testament which was metaphorically speaking because God did not show up in a physical body. 38 The Father’s coming in the clouds was usually His coming in Judgment against Israel, etc. when they were disobedient and as a result God would sometimes use other nations to execute His judgment on them.
39 So then with Jesus coming in the cloud in the glory of His Father needs to be considered the same way as a Spiritual coming in nature instead of a Physical coming which would only causes a huge problem for the credibility of the scriptures.
40 The “cloud” imagery was the Old Testament poetic way of saying that God was going to execute his vengeance and pour out His wrath. 41 God the Father was said to “ride on the clouds” and be “Coming in the clouds”…..but God never showed up physically. 42 So when the New Testament prophets including Jesus talked about Him coming “in the clouds” it doesn’t mean He is going to show up physically in literal clouds. 43 It’s the same Jewish poetic imagery that the Old Testament prophets used, and we can see how Jesus used it when speaking to those who were alive during the time He walked the Earth in a physical body.
44 Here is a list of scriptures that are associated with Christ coming in the glory of His Father in the clouds as a figurative way of meaning in the unseen Spiritual realm.
Deuteronomy 33:25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be. 26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.27 The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, ‘Destroy!’
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him.
Psalm 104:3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,
Jeremiah 4:1 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
Ezekiel 30:2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’3 For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.4 The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt, And they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down.
45 Here is where I see the Blowing of Trumpets within the appointed times during the Fall just before the Feast of Tabernacles being connected to the end of the Age that the scriptures spoke of coming in the clouds.
Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.15 That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,16 A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
46 Here is the verse from the book of Daniel that connects Christ coming in the clouds to be like how the Father came in the clouds during the Old Testament.
Daniel 7:13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Matthew 24:30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Signs of the End of the Age:
47 Daniel and Jesus gave signs of when the end of the age was to occur with the coming of the Lord and there was plenty of them and they all actually happened during the Parousia of the Lord between AD66 and AD70. 48 All we have to do is to recognize the signs given and to read up on the history of what happened to the nation of Israel back in the first century. 49 By not denying what happened that were fulfilled by the words of the Prophets, we can believe and understand how many things happened in unseen Spiritual realm.
Physical Signs:
1 The Temple destroyed
2 The war of AD66 to AD70
3 The abomination of desolation
4 The Great Tribulation
5 Power of the Holy People shattered
Spiritual Signs in the Unseen Realm Connected to Signs in the Physical Ream Above:
1 Rapture of the Saints in AD66
2 Resurrection and Judgment of the just and the unjust Dead in AD70
3 New Heaven and Earth
Daniel 12:7Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”.
50 The Full Preterist view does not deny what Jesus was speaking directly to His audience like the Futurist is forced to reject. 51 He was not speaking of a future generation especially a very long time away beyond the first century generation. 52 He was speaking to that generation who were alive at the time when He spoke and addressed His message to them only.
53 The words written in the scriptures right here are what should convince us that the Full Preterist view concerning the coming of the Lord are true that all of these things did indeed happen and were fulfilled completely by the end of the age in AD70.
54 The war began in AD66 with Rome attacking Jerusalem the capital of Israel and ended in AD70 with the power of the Holy People shattered and their Temple being destroyed.
Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars
55 The abomination of desolation happened between AD66 – AD70 when abominations happened in the Most Holy Place among many other things. 56 The daily sacrifices were ordered to cease by Eleazar the High Priest in AD66 right in the middle of Daniel’s last week of the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9:27 which many get confused with Christ being crucified on the cross happening in the middle of the 70th week.
Matthew 24:15 Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”
57 Edward E. Stevens “Quote”: Gessius Florus, the Roman procurator over Judea in AD 66, attempted to rob the temple of all of its imageless coinage and force the Jews to bring in coins with Nero’s deified image on them. This would have been an abomination of the temple, and easily explains why the Zealots and Priests revolted. One of the key players in that rebellion was Eleazar, the Captain of the Temple Guard, and son of the powerful High Priest Ananias b. Nedebaeus. Eleazar blew the shofar and rallied the citizens to block Florus’ access to the temple. Eleazar then took control of the temple and did many other lawless things which suggest that he might have been the Man of Lawlessness.
“End Quote”
Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
58 Many of the signs were things that could be seen and happened during the first century. 59 But there were other things that had happened in the unseen Spiritual realm. 60 Those things we would have to believe by faith that they happened because they were scheduled to happen around the same time as the signs that could be seen happened around that time. 61 Heaven and earth will pass away was one of the things meant for in the unseen Spiritual realm. 62 When the nation of Israel came out of the Babylon captivity and went back to their promised land Isaiah the Prophet said a New Heaven and Earth would be created in Isaiah 65 and 66. 63 The same poetic language of a New Heaven and Earth was used by the Apostle John for when the end of the Age would happen with another New Heaven and Earth that would be created for the New Covenant Age and would last forever. 64 That new age would have begun as soon and the Old Covenant was taken away in AD70. 65 It should be obvious that poetic language was being used, but those who choose to take it literally take it to the extreme that the Universe would be destroyed. 66 The Futuristic Adventist View has a problem with their expectations of a physical/ material return of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. This will never happen, so because it has not happened yet it supposedly gives them their justified excuse to denounce Preterism.
Matthew 24:34Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
67 Even the Futuristic Adventist View has an element of Preterism in their view based on Luke 18:31 which the Jewish people do not have; while the Jewish people still wait for their expected Messiah to come the set up His Kingdom on the throne of King David and rule the world.
Luke 18:31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
68 Like the Jewish people missed out on with the first coming of the Christ on the Earth in Luke 18:31 when they rejected their Messiah, the Futuristic Advent Christians miss it with the second coming of the Lord in clouds of Heaven, in Luke 21:20-21. 69 All the things which were written would be fulfilled around the time Jerusalem was about to be destroyed by the Roman armies in the war between AD66 to AD70.
Luke 21:20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
The Redemptive Body for the Afterlife:
70 Futuristic Christian Advent View and the Jewish people miss the understanding of is, where Jesus said their redemption draws near. 71 While many Futuristic Adventist believe redemption took place at the cross Jesus clearly said it would occur at His coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 72 There were a few things that redemption would apply to at the cross, then there was the redemption of the body that would be fulfilled in His coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 73 The redemptive body which is a Spiritual body for the afterlife came for those saints who were alive in AD66. 74 Then at the resurrection of the dead of the just and the unjust in AD70 in the unseen Spiritual realm at the end of Christ’s Parousia. 75 That would have occurred at Great White Throne Judgment resurrection of the just and the unjust, when Christ came in a clouds with power and great glory to deliver the Whole Creation out from the Bondage of Corruption in order to bring in a New Heaven and Earth where everlasting righteousness dwells.
76 Those who were resurrected after Jesus rose from the grave they were part of the first resurrection and they would have receive their Spiritual redemptive body then in Matthew 27:51-53 when they ascended with Christ into Heaven, then those who were alive at then beginning of Christ Parousia in AD66.
Luke 21:27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
77 The main thing that set apart Full Preterist, from the Partial Preterist and the Futurist is in the resurrection of the dead. 78 Partial Preterist believe Christ came in the unseen Spiritual realm in AD70 that brought an end to the Age but delay the resurrection of the dead until their understanding of the 1000 year reign of Christ has ended. 79 However they seem to blend in the 1000 years reign of Christ with the New Heaven and Earth where Christ reigns forever which makes their view very confusing especially when they add in the last enemy being death to be physical death.
80 Here is why Full Preterist IBV see a Spiritual body for the afterlife oppose to a physical body.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23But each one in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
Conclusion:
81 Either Jesus and the Apostles spoke of the truth or they were false Prophets. 82 The Futuristic Adventist view makes them appear to be false Prophets by twisting what they said into meaning something other than what they said. 83 It looks like they have gone through a lot of wrangling and twisting of the scriptures in order not to make them look like false Prophets all because of Christ not appearing a second time in the flesh with a physical body. 84 They have managed to not deny Him, yet they deny the Full Preterist view that can only justify what Jesus and the Apostles meant with the words they choose to use when writing what we know as God’s word in the scriptures.
85 If a court case “GWTJ” was held today in Heaven by God the Father based on the scriptures below and the evidence of Christ returning in a physical body and a physical/material Kingdom, then how would the outcome turn out…? 86 It would have no choice but to find the Prophets, Jesus and the Apostles guilty of being false Prophets and the case would be brought to a conclusion and be cast into the Lake of Fire. 87 But if what I presented here in this article was brought to view with the evidence in the unseen Spiritual realm but the words they choose to use in their writings then they would have to be found innocent and true to their words and a new faith would have to be applied for today to the hope we would have for the afterlife.
Deuteronomy 18:20But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Isaiah 9:14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.15 The elder and honourable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
Jeremiah 5:30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
Ezekiel 13 Woe to Foolish Prophets
Matthew 7:15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
Revelation 20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Road to Balfour: The History of Christian Zionism
The origin of Rapture False doctrine: John Darby 1830 AD
88 Preterism has been spreading and growing fast as many have become awaken to it. 89 Along with it has crept all the other doctrines from within Christendom. 90 It should be noted that the term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which is a prefix denoting that something is “past” or “beyond”. 91 Adherents of preterism are known as preterists. Preterism teaches that either all (full preterism) or a majority (partial preterism) of the Olivet discourse had come to pass by AD 70.
92 Here are a few quotes from friends who are Full Preterist IBV Worldview concerning the things that Preterist have brought into their views that may not be Preterist doctrines but exist in many Christian denominations;
Robert E Cruickshank Jr. “Quote”
I’ve been a Preterist for 43 years. I don’t believe or teach any of the other things you’ve mentioned here. While I’m sure that some Preterists do, this is not Preterism, per se. There are variant and aberrant beliefs in all circles. One doesn’t need to accept these other beliefs to be a Preterist.People have their odd, pet doctrines, and then they tout these doctrines as “the Preterist view.” Preterism is a hermeneutical tool to interpret eschatological texts. Nothing more. It’s not a system to reinvent the Bible. IMHO. People can believe whatever they want about any number of things. Whatever. But don’t confuse the categories and tell the world these other things = Preterism. This is very frustrating to someone who has been a Preterist for decades.
“End Quote”
93 Full Preterism is basically the belief that all the things that were written were fulfilled by the time AD70 occurred with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. 94 After those events happened began the New Heaven and Earth with all things made new and the former thing not to be remembered, as well as death in Hades no more.
Hebrews 10:9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”5Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
95 Stephen’s accusers (the religious elite) didn’t understand that He came not to destroy the law but rather that He was the fulfillment of it all. 96 Both of the law and it’s temple. Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.
Acts 6:11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Daniel 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
97 Ed Stevens “Quote” The utter inconsistency of the Partial Preterist view which teaches TWO DIFFERENT RETURNS OF CHRIST separated by thousands of years. The Creeds and Confessions only knew of, and mentioned, ONE RETURN – NOT two or more different returns.
The Full Preterists accept the creedal and confessional view of ONLY ONE RETURN of Christ (the Second Coming in AD 70). They differ on the TIMING of that ONE RETURN, but at least they agree with the creeds and confessions that there is ONLY ONE RETURN of Christ taught in Scripture. That is a minor disagreement over the TIME of fulfillment. It does not change the list of events in the creeds, but instead merely suggests a different time of fulfillment for the ONE AND ONLY RETURN of Christ that is mentioned in the creeds-confessions.
However, the Partial Preterists are ADDING another coming into the creeds and confessions which was not originally included. Do they have the right to add another coming to the creedal-confessional formulas? If so, then the Full Preterists have the same right to make changes to the creeds-confessions.
Furthermore, some of those same Partial Preterists who believe in two different returns of Christ also take exception to one or more phrases, clauses, or sentences in some of the creeds and confessions (for example: the “descent into Hades” clause in the Apostles Creed, or the “pope is the antichrist” in the WCF). Are the Partial Preterists the only ones who have the right to take exceptions to the creedal-confessional formulas? Absolutely NOT! The Full Preterists also have the same right to take exceptions to the creedal-confessional statements.
So, it seems that those particular Partial Preterists are a wee bit inconsistent and hypocritical in trying to force Full Preterists to strictly conform to creeds and confessions to which they themselves do not even strictly conform! They take exception to certain items in the creeds-confessions, as well as ADD into the creeds-confessions ANOTHER RETURN OF CHRIST that is not already there.
So, we need to ask: Who violates the creeds more? (1) Those who merely differ on the TIME of fulfillment of the one and only Return of Christ; or (2) Those who not only differ with the TIMING, but go further to add another coming to the creeds which was not already there! The answer (#2) is obvious!
The Partial Preterists seem to think that they have the right to ADD TO or TAKE FROM the creeds-confessions anything they wish, but they do not allow Full Preterists to have that right. They apparently think they are privilege characters.
And just like the Pharisees of old, they lay heavy burdens on others which they themselves are not willing to lift with even a finger (Mat 23:4), and they cast out of their synagogues anyone who dares “question” their traditions. Hypocrites! (cf. Mark 7:13 and Mat 15:6).
The Irony of the Collective Body View:
The CBV guys are teaching that the body which was raised at the Parousia was a COLLECTIVE BODY (the church), and that the collective body was not raised out of the ground, but rather “raised” or changed from a status of fellowship death into a status of fellowship life.
So, resurrection for the CBV is nothing more than a spiritual change of a collective body. And they think that the spiritual change was not experienced or even perceived by those saints when it happened!!! Do you catch the irony of that!
The CBV view of Max King and Don Preston not only “downplays” the significance of the Cross (physical death of Christ), but goes radically further to eliminate the physical death of Jesus from His substitutionary death.
Preston is on record admitting that the substitutionary atoning death of Jesus was NOT his physical death on the Cross, but rather was a spiritual death that occurred while he was still alive physically!
That is trampling under foot the precious physical blood and physical death of Jesus. Do you catch the blasphemy of that!
“End Quote”
Manifested Sons of God AD70 