One of the most dangerous and subversive doctrines held by adherents of Preterism, is the view that in A.D. 70, at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, God’s covenant nation of Israel was superseded by the Christian church.  According to Preterists, Israel is no longer part of the divine plan.  Therefore, notwithstanding the sequence of remakable events witnessed in recent years concerning the revival of Jewish nationalism, we are told not to look for any restoration of the Jewish people, and are even assured that any events tending in that direction are without significance.

  What are the grounds for such assertions?  Is old Satan rearing his head for one final assault upon the Jews?  I am afraid to say, the case appears to be so.  The fascistic tendencies of many Preterists, who secretly espouse a form of Dominion Theology, has impelled them to join hands with unbelievers in an attempt to halt God’s purposes to restore his chosen people to a rightful possession of their land.  Satan knows that his time is running out.  As he sees the fig-tree start to blossom (Matt. 24: 32-33), he realizes that this sign portends his doom, heralding as it does the “end of the age.”  What better way for him to postpone his own confinement in the bottomless pit than to put off the regathering of the Jews?  Seeing this, it ought to be the obligation of every Bible-believing Christian to resist such maneuvering, knowing that the peace of the world hinges ultimately on the revival and restoration of Israel.

  When God made the promise to Abraham to bless him and his seed, he gave him a royal grant of land, bounded on the west by the River of Egypt, and on the east by the Euphrates (Gen. 15: 18).  The land was to extend from Hamath on the north to Kadesh on the south (Ezekiel 48: 1-29).  The tract was promised to Abraham himself, and to his seed.  Historically speaking, however, these promises have never been fulfilled.  Therefore, their fulfillment awaits a future time.  The revival of Jewish nationalism is but one sign which proves that God’s purposes to bless His covenant nation have not fallen to the ground. 

   And yet Preterists claim that these events are without any kind of importance!  This claim is made in the face of unfulfilled prophecies such as the above, which makes it all the more reprehensible.  Was Abraham ever raised from the dead to enjoy any inheritance in the land which God promised Him?  The answer is emphatically, no!  For Stephen, when arraigned before the Sanhredrin, said: “And He gave him 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).

  Therefore, unless God made promises which He had no intention of keeping, there is not the slightest warrant for the claim that God’s plan for Israel is over.  As long as the promise made to Abraham remains unfulfilled, Israel remains at the forefront of God’s scheme.  If Christians reject this truth, they do so because they have accepted the faulty and unscriptural notion of Replacement Theology.  Is such a view correct?  Paul intimates that this present dispensation will end with the “breaking off” of the wild olive branches from the good olive tree, and the “grafting back in” of the natural branches (Romans 11: 19-25).  Surely this is not “replacement.”

 When we look around us, we can see the preliminary process already starting to happen. One can daily hear the snapping off of useless branches, as Laodicean Christianity becomes more and more rife. The sad apostasy witnessed by orthodox Christians in recent years–the horrible defection of so many from the “faith delivered to the saints” (Jude 3)– coupled with the revival and re-awakening of Jewish nationalism, is a tell-tale sign that we have reached the “sunteleia,” or consummation of the age. 

  Preterists and their supporters have contributed to the problem by claiming that the original Gospel authorized by Jesus Christ need no longer be preached, but that the church should “apply” Old Testament law to our civil and social institutions, and require a mere formal consent to the tenets of Christianity however adulterated they may have become.  This worthless “salt without savor“ religion is just another form of Gentilism in disguise.   The doctrines of Replacement Theology provide a favorable climate for such ideology, which saps the spiritual life of the church from within.  Are we even aware of this?

  Regardless of the prognostications of post-millennial optimists, who tell us that all is ok, the time has come when we must wake up and see what is cooking.  The fact is, Satan is now busy concocting his final masterpiece of deception: Antichrist, who will come forward as a man of peace, but who, in reality will be the most vicious persecutor of God’s Old Covenant people the world has ever seen.

  What is the duty of Christians at the present time?  Is it not to zealously preach the Gospel to all nations, as we have been commanded by Jesus Christ to do?  And at the same time, is it not necessary to warn others of the falsehoods now being taught by those who cry “peace and safety” even in the midst of catacysmic worldwide upheaval?  The lying falsehood of Preterism ought to stand first and foremost on our list of errors to refute and resist.  We must not succumb to any teaching, however speciously dressed, which claims that God’s purpose to restore Israel is past-fulfillment.  When we hear such doctrines, we must frankly recognize them for what they are: delusions which Satan is using to lull many into slumber, and therefore ensure the damnation of more souls.

  As the world plunges more rapidly down the spiral of end-time fulfillment, we who know the truth must be faithful in sharing our testimony with others.  We must also identify error when we find it.  Recognizing the sinister Satanic connection between Preterism and Replacement Theology will be found helpful in refuting its doctrines, as well as a host of related errors.  Whoever you be, wherever you are, if you are a friend of God you will take your stand against Preterism, and in so doing help to baffle Satan’s plans to stall the second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.