Often it’s not until you’ve held a view that has been misrepresented or unfairly slurred do you really become sensitive to being careful not to engage in that kind of tactic with others, or appreciate the wrong that is done when other people are attacked in this way.

I can still remember when the internet was fairly new to me, browsing various Christian websites that purportedly fill the role of “warning” Christians about dangerous theological points of view that they need to stay away from. Looking back, it’s fairly obvious that all these sites really ended up doing was enshrining the viewpoint of the author as the only one that any serious thinking Christian can possibly hold, and labelling anything outside of this perspective as a dangerous aberration from the pit of hell (yes I exaggerate, but not much). I wish I could say that this was largely a phenomenon of the past when the internet was still fairly young, but that just isn’t so.

One of the targets of that sort of website is the term “kingdom theology,” and as someone who a) actually thinks that the ideas represented by that term are biblical and b) has a background in theology and feels a certain responsibility to promote good theological education among those who want to learn about it, I’ve decided to say a few things on behalf of kingdom theology.

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This episode is a sermon/talk that I delivered on Sunday the 27th of July at our church, Grace Bible Church, here in Dunedin, New Zealand.

I was asked to preach on Mark 13, the Olivet Discourse. Yes, the whole thing. In one sermon. That meant I had to be pretty simplistic about it, and I couldn’t go into a huge amount of depth. It was an introductory talk to an audience that had never really looked at the issue before (at least, it had never been spoken about in church). So basically, it’s an introduction to Mark 13, and therefore an introduction to preterism.

 Episode 14: Preterism from the pulpit [52:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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According to Chuck Missler, the Olivet Discourse in the Gospels is a problem. It’s not that he rejects it altogether, but it’s still a problem that he thinks needs to be resolved.

A major part of the reason that he thinks it’s a problem is here:

1) Jesus said in the Olivet discourse that the events he was describing would take place within “this generation.” No problem so far.

2) Chuck Missler doesn’t believe that the events that Jesus was speaking about did take place within that generation. There’s the problem.

If Chuck simply took 1) seriously, there would be no problem. He only thinks there’s a problem to resolve because of 2). Missler is a futurist, that is, he thinks that the events described in Matthew 24 are all in the future. Preterism is the view that the events that Jesus spoke about took place within that generation, that is, within the first century. They were in the future when Jesus predicted them, but then they happened, and they are now in the past. Preterists take the biblical references to timing quite literally. But look how Missler characterises the difference between futurists and preterists (“dispensationalism” is a type of futurism):

For many students of eschatology – the study of last things – the so-called Olivet Discourse has proven to be a troublesome passage; a hermeneutical battleground between the dispensationalists and the preterists, etc. The preterists insist that this passage – and the Book of Revelation – has been already fulfilled, and much of it is dismissed by them as simply allegorical. Yet even those who embrace a dispensational view have difficulty reconciling many of the Olivet Discourse passages.

Dismissed? What? The tactic is pretty weak: If someone takes a passage very seriously, but does not reach the same conclusion that you reach, simply allege that they dismiss the passage altogether.

The claim is pretty ironic, given that it is the preterists who are merely asking that we take Jesus’ claim about “this generation” seriously, while it is the futurists (like Missler) who are – for want a gentler term – dismissing such texts and labeling them as “problems” that we need to resolve so they will go away.

Dr Missler, here’s a great way to resolve the problem: Believe what Jesus said! Don’t be scared of the p word. Come on in Chuck, the water is lovely.

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My good friend Dee Dee Warren has a new podcast, which you should definitely check out.

It’s called The Preterist Podcast, and it’s, well, a podcast about preterism. Preterism is a view within Christian eschatology, teaching that a number of events in biblical prophecy are now in the past. Preterism contrasts strongly with futurism, the view popularized in such sensational works as The Late Great Planet Earth, or more recently, the Left Behind series of books and movies.

Dee Dee does a much better job than I could summarizing the position, and for Christians who have not encountered the view before, do check out her podcast. It may well revolutionize the way you read many parts of the Bible. What’s particularly helpful about Dee Dee’s podcast is – apart from the fact that she’s awesome at making podcasts and stuff – is the fact that a lot of the material carrying the label “preterist” out there on the internet is not really historic preterism at all, but a more recently aberration that teaches that there is literally nothing left to occur by way of biblical prophecy. No future return of Christ, no future bodily resurrection of the dead, for example. It’s a small but very vocal movement confined almost exclusively to the internet. If you’re not a Christian and you’re reading this, those issues might seem like a bit of a storm in a teacup, but if you’re someone concerned about Christians orthodoxy, you’ll see why that’s not a serious option for Christians. The Preterist Podcast then is a welcome alternative.

The presentation is fantastic, everything is laid out clearly and persuasively, and yours truly is responsible for a few of the sounds you’ll hear. What are you waiting for?

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