The Morning Star
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2: 26-27).
Contrary to the claims of many modern prophecy teachers, the epistles to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation contain conditional promises and warnings, addressed to the professing church during the closing days of the present dispensation. Each church is given a promise, and all but one are threatened with judgment. The epistles are to be read as a unified message to the visible church.
If one would take the time to arrange the promises and the warnings in parallel columns, he would see that the resultant list forms a didactic version of Christ’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13). The wise virgins are promised deliverance from a coming time of trial, whereas the foolish virgins will be cast into “great tribulation.” The deliverance and the punishments are to be levied at the same time.
These facts are exemplified in the above passage, where Christ says that he that endures unto the end will be given power to rule over the nations. The Greek word here translated “end” is “telos.” The same word is found in Matthew 24: 15, where Christ mentions the abomination of desolation as the sign of the telos. The AOD is the image of the beast that will be set up in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week (Daniel 9: 27; 11: 31; 12: 11; Rev. 13: 5).
Consider again what Christ saith unto the churches. Disciples that endure unto the telos will be saved (see Matt. 24: 13). And they will be given power to rule over the nations.
In Revelation 12: 5, John records a vision of a manchild caught up to heaven immediately prior to the 1,260 days that comprise the Great Tribulation, or last half of Daniel’s 70th week. It is said of this manchild that he is to rule all nations with a rod of iron. The identity between Revelation 2: 26 and 12: 5 can hardly be ignored. Compare with Isaiah 66: 7, and you will see that John is depicting a deliverance which takes place prior to the time of travail (Great Tribulation). John is describing the fulfillment of Christ’s promise in Revelation 2: 26!
Our Lord also declares that to them who overcome will be given the morning star. The morning star precedes the rising of the sun. Christ is called the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4: 2), and He will arise in a twofold manner: to bring healing to the nation of Israel when He comes the second time (cf. Zech. 12: 10); and to burn up the wicked. He will inaugurate a new day of righteousness (Zech. 14: 6-7), even the Day of the Lord. Christ’s coming as the Sun of Righteousness occurs after the tribulation (Matt. 24: 29).
But before the tribulation, Christ will descend into the lower heavens and become the “morning star” to those who endure unto the telos. They who keep the word of His patience will be kept out of the hour of temptation which will try the entire habitable world (Rev. 3: 10). Those who fail will be cast into the tribulation, to be purified and made white and tried (see Daniel 12: 10; 11: 35). Many of them will fall.
To be delivered out of the hour of temptation it is needful to remain in prayer (Luke 21: 36). For none who have not prayed unto the Son of Man for deliverance will be accounted worthy to attain unto the blessed promise of being caught up to the throne of God before the tribulation. When the telos comes, some will be taken and others left (Matt. 24: 39-41).
The same message is taught in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. At the midnight cry, those who are prepared go into the wedding chamber, while the unprepared are shut out (Matt. 25: 10). There is a time during which they knock fervently at the door for entrance, but they are refused. This is their hour of trial. Those who withstand Antichrist will be beheaded for their faith (Rev. 20: 4).
As Christ’s coming as ‘morning star’ precedes the full-orbed Millennial day, so Antichrist must also make his appearance around the same time. Antichrist is called the ‘morning star’ in Isaiah 14: 12, for he is Christ’s counterfeit. He will be manifested to the world in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week. His parousia marks the telos, at which the true Morning Star, Jesus Christ the Son of God, will snatch away the faithful ones into heaven.
“I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22: 16).
Preterism’s Bifurcated Ecclesiology
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4: 4).
One of the more egregious errors of Preterist theology is its treatment of the canonical New Testament writings as purely human documents. Utilizing a “critical-historical” method of interpretation, Preterists come to the conclusion that most, if not all, of eschatological passages were fulfilled in the Jewish War of A.D. 67-70.
Of course, such a view amounts to little more than rationalistic nonsense, as we have labored for the past three years to show. Did Christ never speak of His second coming? According to Preterists, He certainly did not, but was more concerned about an A.D. 70 ‘judgment coming,’ at which the nation of Israel would be destroyed. This, too, in the face of Paul’s inspired teaching that the the Redeemer will come out of Sion to turn transgression from Jacob (Romans 11: 26-29).
I thank God every day that Preterism is not a Biblical doctrine. Nor is it historical. This latter fact can be established when we note that virtually every post-apostolic writer prior to the 16th-century placed the appearance of Antichrist prior to the second advent of Christ, which is of course, yet future. True, men graced with a tad of book-learning have been known to discern Preteristic ‘elements‘ in the writings of church fathers. But Preterism as a system just isn’t there. It can only be built by a process of “theological cookery” whereby ingredients from 2,000 years of Christian teaching, selected at the discretion of the chef, are mixed together to produce a Preterist system.
Preterists must not be too dismayed, however, if we reject their method. We prefer to believe saints such as Irenaeus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Polycarp, Lactantius, Commodian, Hippolytus, and countless others who taught a literal, physical, and future return of Christ, at which the Kingdom will be set up in glory upon the earth. Away with Preteristic jargon that teaches the exact opposite!
We cannot deny that Preterism results in a bifurcated view of the Body of Christ, in which the church of the first century is treated as a distinctly different company from the church of today, and as possessing a distinctly different hope. Such a view runs contrary to Paul’s declaration that there is but one faith, one hope, and one body. Since Ephesians was written prior to A.D. 70, a Preterist cannot consistently say he/she is a member of the same ‘body’ without also confessing that he/she is bound by the same ‘faith’ and the same ‘hope.’ It is a matter of consistency.
Addressing saved Gentiles of the “one body,” Paul declared that we are “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God: and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2: 19-21).
Note the temple is “fitly framed together.” It is not lying in pieces. The cornerstone is not detatched from the foundation, nor is the superstructure left hanging in mid-air. We are not to break the cohesion of the body (see Eph. 4: 16) by positing two classes of Christians, pre-A.D. 70 and post-A.D. 70. The church is still growing, through the accession of sons who are saved and sanctified by the blood of Christ. If the church is still growing as it did when Paul first penned his epistle, then A.D. 70 cannot be seen as a terminal point in any analysis.
What does Preterism produce? The end result of their doctrine is the proliferation of loud-mouthed teachers who boast a “biblical worldview,” but whose teachings resemble nothing like those found in the epistles of Peter, Paul, James, and John – who ministered (as they still do) to the ever-growing Body of Christ.
While Preterists claim that the church is Israel, they forget that Israel was formed as a nation only after corporate deliverance through the Red Sea. The church has not yet been delivered, but is still being conformed to the image of Christ, through patience and tribulation in this present evil age. There is a road of “grace to glory” which we all must walk (Romans 8: 29-30). Our triumph is not now, but will be realized at the Lord’s second coming, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Preterism reverses all these truths and claims that the eschatological hope of the church (which is connected with the consummation of our redemption) was realized at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Preterists say that now the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of Christ (see Rev. 11: 15), there is nothing left for us to do but “take charge” of this messed-up world in His name, and “engage the culture.” Unfortunately, all too often the culture ends up engaging them, due to their refusal to heed John’s admonition:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love not the world, the love of the Father is not in them” (1 John 2: 15).
It would seem that in many cases, Preterists believe that this precept only applied to a pre-A.D. 70 time frame, and that since the destruction of Herod’s temple it is ok to love the world. Well, it is certainly love of the world, or at least of man’s wisdom and his pompous ‘learning,’ that causes so many of them to reject the canon of Scripture and its inspired teachings, and to posit a two-tongued ecclesiology, thus breaking the seven-fold unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4: 4-6).
Lovers of Pleasure More Than Lovers of God
“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3: 4).
In the last epistle which Paul the apostle wrote (circa A.D. 68), he warned that at the closing days of the present dispensation there would come perilous times. He predicted not only a time of danger to those who remain steadfast in the truth, but an epoch of unprecedented moral corruption. He went so far as to say that men would be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. That is a strong statement.
Christians in America, and indeed throughout the entire world, should realize that we are near the end of our road. Regardless of the loud boasts of progress which we hear daily from religious and secular humanists, humanity is about to undergo a time of trial that is without historical precedent. With a one-world government and micro-chip identification right around the corner, one can scarcely tell what the next day will bring.
The age is unspeakably corrupt – much like the days of Noah and of Lot (Luke 17: 26-30). Although the Holy Spirit reproves the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16: 7-11), the leaven of malice and wickenedness stealthily increases, and we wonder how long it will be before the Lord opens the floodgates of His indignation upon the world.
After 6,000 years of history, it is clear that mankind is a failure. Humanity has been weighed in the scales, and found wanting. Man has tried every form of government to better his circumstances, and failed. He has utilized every scheme of “self help” available to lift him out of the corruption into which his own heart has plunged him – but to no avail. Only One can save , and that One is rejected by a world which has no place for Him. What awaits now but the day of sentencing, during which Jehovah alone will be exalted, and all mankind abased? Isaiah 2: 11-12. The day will come like a thief upon the world, just as men are saying, “Peace and safety!“ 1 Thess. 5: 2-3.
Among Christians, the “falling away” (2 Thess. 2: 3) has already commenced. Those who keep the word of His patience and remain in fervent prayer will be delivered out of the day of trial, and stand before the Son of Man (Rev. 3: 10; Luke 21: 36). They will be caught up to the throne of God, before the tribulation even begins (Rev. 2: 26-27; 12: 5; cf. Isaiah 66: 7). But those who love the pleasures of this world will be tried in the furnace of affliction. Now is the time for Christians to re-consecrate their lives to Christ, and to renounce all vain pursuits and endeavors. Today is the day of grace. Spend it wisely while you may!
Rev. I.M. Haldeman, D.D. — Cain: A Type Of The Jews
(From How To Study The Bible, The Second Coming, and Other Expositions, 1904)
Cain is a type of the Jew, Abel, of Jesus. Proof of this may be found from reading Hebrews 12: 24.
Here the blood of Jesus is contrasted to that of Abel; the blood of Abel cried aloud from the ground for judgment. The blood of Jesus speaks from the Mercy-seat in heaven for better things, for grace towards the sinner.
Now the point common to Jesus and Abel is the fact that both were slain, and their deaths the results of fratricidal blows: this commonalty is the basis of the type.
Abel slain by his brother after the flesh, is a type of Jesus slain by His brother after the flesh, that is by the Jew. And that the Jew is intended in this contrast is evident from the fact that it occurs in the epistle to the Hebrews, an epistle written especially to the Jews; it sets forth the idea that although the blood of Christ was upon the people even as they invoked it according to Matthew 27: 25, it was not upon them for judgment, but for grace.
The story of Cain’s punishment confirms the thought that Cain is a type of the Jew. Note:
1. He was driven from his home.
2. He could get nothing from tilling the ground.
3. He was to be a wanderer on the face of the earth.
4. A mark was to be put upon him by the world, that all might know him.
5. All hands were to be against him.
6. Although punished of God, God would punish those who killed him.
See how wonderfully these characteristics have been fulfilled in the Jew:
1. Forty years after the crucifixion the Jew is driven out of his own land.
2. He has never succeeded in tilling the ground, he has never succeeded as a farmer.
3. For twenty centuries he has been a wanderer on the face of the earth.
4. For twenty centuries he has been marked by the hand of God, that no matter aamong what nation he may dwell, he cannot hide himself, a Jew is known on sight everywhere.
5. All hands were to be against him.
6. While God punishes him, he is to punish all who maltreat him. Jeremiah 30: 11; Zechariah 2: 8.
All history is in evidence of this. Nations persecuting him have passed away, he remains.
A fearful retribution yet awaits European nations on account of him. (See Matthew 25: 31, 32, 40).
The Basis of Our Expectation
When most Christians think about the parousia of Christ, at which time both the dead and living in Christ are to be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4: 16-17), they think of it as an imminent expectation. That is, the rapture and resurrection of believers is something that can occur during any generation. It doesn’t matter whether you are pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib; if you are solidly evangelical in your views, then you believe that the rapture intimately concerns you. Very well. But while the doctrine of imminency is confessed by all, it is less often understood why this element is essential to a true unfolding of the Gospel message.
We are aware of some who would postpone Christ’s second advent to a far future time. They urge Christians not to look for the second coming, which is the blessed hope of the church (Titus 2: 13), but for the evangelization of the world. They urge us to buy houses and cars, plant vineyards and oliveyards, make investments, and look for long-term schemes to reach fruition. One writer has even suggested that Christ will not return for another 36,000 years! This is wrong, all wrong. If only the truths concerning this matter were better understood, Christians would shun any doctrine that seeks to put off the coming of the King to receive us unto Himself.
The doctrine of imminency is indeed important, and is based – believe it or not – on the substitutionary, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23). Christ paid the wages when He died on Calvary’s cross. Hence, Christ’s death is substitutionary in nature. That is a simple equation, and easy to understand – as it well should be.
Think about it for a moment. If Christ’s death was substitutionary (which all Protestants admit), then it is evident that regenerate Christians need not die. That is, there is no more necessity for undergoing death. Wherefore Paul explicitly teaches: “Behold, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15: 51). That is, not all members of the Body of Christ shall undergo physical death; but regardless of whether we live or die, we shall all be tranformed into the image of Christ. In this regard, nothing has changed since the apostle penned these words.
For any Christian to claim that all the members of Christ’s body on earth at any given time must needs fall asleep in death, is to subvert this truth, and to demonstrate ignorance of the springhead whence it flows. Sometimes Preterists seek to solve the problem of imminency by relegating all the “expectation passages” to the first century, and positing their fulfillment in A.D. 70. But this method is inconsistent, and inadequate to deal with the facts. Paul’s teaching in Philippians 3: 20-21 places the rapture of believers in the immediate foreview of the church. Since the transformation of the living and dead did not occur in the first century, it is clear that it must still occupy an important place in our daily walk. There is only one body and one faith (Ephesians 4: 4-5). The church has received but one set of marching orders. How faithfully we adhere to these marching orders will reveal our value as stewards. It is a matter which concerns “all” (Luke 12: 41-48).
The questions we must ask is: Did Christ die for our sins? Was He raised for our justification? Is He coming again? If you answer yes to all three of these questions, then you will have to place more importance on the second coming, if you haven’t already. For the return of Christ is bound up with His sacrificial death on Calvary’s cross, and is therefore part of that “good news” which we are to preach. Any man who seeks to deny or wilfully obscure such good news will have something to answer for at the judgment seat of seat.
Scofield Ministries Shares My Testimony!
Dear Dr. Couch,
Thank you for your kind response to what I wrote last. I am fully convinced that Dispensationalism is the truth of Scripture, however, in the past I believed otherwise. I would attribute my acceptance of Preterism to one main factor: My ignorance of the prophetic Scriptures.
I did not have a very good handle on biblical truth at the time (which was between 2005-2006), and so was easily led away by false doctrine. It all started when I began studying the books about covenant theologians who continually spiritualized the Word of God. I read several books on Preterism that greatly influenced me. In my readings I moved farther and farther into Preterism until I began accepting their views as a valid theology. At best, I became a partial Preterist.
I read books by men who said Christ’s second coming took place in AD 70, but that His coming was still going on today. As I understand, the Preterist field is in confusion today, with some infighting between full and partial Preterists. I seriously doubt whether many of them are sure of what they believe.
That said, I appreciate the effort you have put into combating this doctrine. I remained a Preterist for about a year and a half and then saw the light! I have your book “Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics” and enjoyed it quite a bit. One of the chapters led me to acquire Dr. Paul Tan’s “The Interpretation of Prophecy.” This is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read! I also have “The Endtimes Controversy.” I look forward to more resources!
Blessings on your work,
Brian S.
http://scofieldministries.blogspot.com/2009/11/testimonial-regarding-dispensationalism.html
What Moses Saw From Mount Nebo
(Deut. 34: 1-4) “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea. And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.”
In their desperation to maintain the view that the church superseded Israel, Replacement Theologians have made all kinds of false claims respecting the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The popular view is to concede that the inheritance is the literal land of Canaan, but that the promises were fulfilled in Old Testament times. Joshua 21: 43-45 is often quoted as if that text sets the matter at rest.
However, we cannot forget that the land was promised to each of the patriarchs as a personal possession (see Genesis 13: 15; 26: 3; 28: 13; 35: 12). This promise was certainly never made good in their lifetime, for Stephen later affirmed that God “gave [Abraham] none inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on: yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child” (Acts 7: 5).
Paul also refers to land of promise as the country in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sojourned, dwelling in tents (Hebrews 11: 9). From this it is evident that the patriarchs never received any fulfillment of the promise in their own lifetimes. The promise must therefore be made good in resurrection.
True, Paul declares that Abraham looked for “a city which hath foundations, whose builder and Maker is God” (Hebrews 11: 10). However, this same city was later seen, in prophetic vision, descending to earth (Rev. 21: 2). So there is no contradiction between the promise made to the patriarchs, and the ultimate realization of that promise as depicted in the New Testament.
Regardless of what we today may think, the early Christians certainly believed that the land promises would be fulfilled during the Millennium. Irenaeus writes: ”If, then, God promised [Abraham] the inheritance of the land, yet he did not receive it during all the time of his sojourn there, it must be, that together with his seed, that is, those who fear God and believe in Him, he shall receive it at the resurrection of the just” (Against Heresies, V. xxxii. 2).
What Moses saw from Nebo certainly confirms the fact that what God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was a literal alotment of land, and not a mere spiritual inheritance! It is our firm belief that what God promised will be made good; and that we, who receive blessings with Abraham will surely inherit the world (Romans 4: 15) and judge angels (1 Cor. 6: 3). In view of these promises, we await the time of our Lord’s return, with joy unspeakable.
