Enough already!
Yes, the long-awaited Parousia occurred, being finalized in the events including the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD70, and the 'lat days' judgment, the 'coming on the clouds' that so many Old Testament saints prophesied ( Psalm 96:13, 98:9, Isaiah 26:20, 62:11, Jeremiah 9:25, 30:3, Ezekiel 39:8, Daniel 7:13, Joel 2, Micah 1, Zephaniah 1:15, Zechariah 2:10, 14:1, Malachi 3 & 4 ) Yes, that 'Day' came & went, along with it's accompanying blessings & cursings!
Probably the greatest controversy among preterists today, full or so-called partial ( futurist ), centers around the resurrection. 'Did it happen in AD70, and if so, where's the proof?' 'Was it an individual ( biological ), or corporate/corporeal ( spiritual ) event?' 'Jesus was raised physically, so must we be!' 'If we are partakers in the resurrection, then we do we still die, why do we still have pain; why do we still cry?'
The questions/speculations & debates are seemingly endless and it usually ends up feeling like you're beating a dead horse ( or being beaten with one )! Why do we proffer & suffer such abuse? Are we not all One Body; do we not all serve One Master? Do we not all have the same Father?
Well, you would think so, but just like many siblings, we each have our own agenda, we want things our way, and when things don't go our way, we're not happy!
Many 'preterists' out there are looking for something new; something that no one has thought of before ( 'there is nothing new under the Sun' ), and when they believe they've found it, they want to make it their own, and selfishly tell others that they can't use it without their consent ( 'It's mine, my own, my precious' ) by copyrighting it or simply giving it their name. Sometimes they simply want the recognition and '15 minutes of fame' ( did you know that when you point your finger at someone, four more are pointing back at you?? )
The point is, all this arguing debating seems to serve no other purpose than to puff some up and put others down! 'Well, he/she believes this or that, yet doesn't believe this or that; how inconsistent is that ( what a dumbass! )?!' 'They just don't see it!' Well, they will continue to be inconsistent, and fail to see it, as long as they fail to see in you the applications of the implications! If they see that, for all your superior knowledge & wisdom that you are, after all, no less a dumbass than they are, then why should they bother themselves to switch gears and try a paradigm shift? Especially when a paradigm shift will most likely bring nothing but pain & heart-ache; on top of that, the loss of livelihood is very likely, along with broken relationships of all sorts!
If, however, we as believers in a fulfilled eschatology would begin to make more application of the implications, instead of fighting like cats & dogs over what exactly those implications themselves imply, then maybe we would have more of a positive, rather than negative effect on our 'world! Trust me, we are having an effect on the world around us, but it's not always a good, or positive one, especially with all of our bickering & dickering!
Okay, the People of God have been Resurrected; as Jesus told Martha, just before He symbolically raised her brother from the dead, 'whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die'. Whether you believe that Lazarus is alive today or not, this is what Jesus told Martha, and she believed Him! Does it matter whether or not one believes that we are in Eternity now, or that we don't enter Eternity until we exit this biological body ( gnosticism? ) Does it matter whether we have been or will be resurrected individual or as a corporate Body?
'Is this all we have to live for; is this all there is?'
In a manner of speaking, this is all we have to live for! But oh ( heavenly chorus ), what a Life! Yes, we still have aches, we still have pain, our biological bodies still perish, and when they do, there are plenty of tears to go around! Jesus said though, that we will never die, and that if we believe in Him, and trust the Wisdom from Above, that we will never lack any good thing! We are a New Creation; in Communion with our Heavenly Father, we have everything we need, both for our physical & spiritual existence!
Why do we have to make Life harder and more complicated than it really is? Can't we all just get along? Can't we all Love without believing the same things? Even if we don't see our Father, Mother, Sisters, and Brothers in the same Light ( and we're not going to, that's what makes Life interesting ), we can still Love each other, like the siblings we are, and Live the Life that we have been given!
Live & Let Live is a good motto to live by! If there was more Living, there would be less Dying ( metaphorically speaking, anyway )! It has been proven over and over that a person who has more to Live for will usually have more of a spirit for fight physical ailments ( it's not all in our heads, but a greater part of it is ) The choices we make have a great ( positive or negative ) effect on our biological bodies as well. Good choices coupled with a positive attitude most often lead to a longer physical existence, whereas poor choices along with a poor attitude most often lead to a shorter time on this earth!
If we believe that we are partakers in the Resurrection, then let's Live like it! Since we are a New Creation, let's Live like it! 'Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new'; why are we still tearing at each other, dragging each other down, refusing the Communion that our Father has blessed us with, and scrambling for every last scrap we can call our own?
Let's stop debating and start Living! If we want to get together every so often for some good Fellowship & Communion, let's take over the local bar, throw back several tall, cold ones ( or warm ones, as the case may be ), or just go for a good long or short retreat in the beautiful mountains of Montana!
Other than that, let's just live in application of the implications! Let's take the principles of fulfillment ( preterism ) and apply them ( consistently ) to every area of our lives! Doing this will have a much better, positive & lasting effect on our Lives and the Lives with which we come in contact every day!
Amen; let it be!
Charles Haddon Shank
2 comments:
Amen Brother Charles. Understanding preterist views as the foundation opens up the real opportunity The Lord brought for us,in terms his growth in us whereby we can go forward in his purpose.
Thanks, Brother David, I wrote this at the time of my life where I was just getting tired of all the fighting/debating and not living!
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