Questions for Preterists
Compiled by Pastor Michael BrigmondThese questions were directed by Pastor Brigmond to Larry Smith but his little jackals can respond if they have the courage! It is very easy to publish a false doctrine much more harder to defend it. The questions below will show any honest heart that rightly dividing Larry T. Smith reveals he is a false teacher of Catholic heresy.
1. When did the Law end:
A.) at Calvary
B.) in 70AD?
C.) Some other time:_______________2. Which event caused the daily sacrifice to be abolished (Dan 9:27:
A.) Calvary,
B.) At the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD?
C.) Some other event: _____________?3. When did the Kingdom of God come into existence:
A.) Before Calvary and the events of Acts 2,
B.) Sometime between Calvary and 70 AD, or
C.) After 70 AD?4. Was the Gospel that was preached by the Apostles and Paul prior to 70AD the same Gospel that was preached "after" 70AD?
5. If to "endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." in Matthew 24:13 was only a message to the Jews, telling them they had to endure until 70AD, what are our instructions for today? Does that mean that the Jews who lived beyond 70AD were "saved" and the rest were lost?
6. Revelation 20 indicates that those who do not take part in the 1st resurrection will have to face the 2nd death, which is the lake of fire, and since the Preterists say the first resurrection is past, should not we be a little concerned since we are still here and have obviously missed that 1st one?
7. If the second coming of Jesus was spiritual and occurred in 70AD, were the Apostolic believers resurrected (spiritually or physically) at that "cloud coming of Christ," or did they also miss the 1st resurrection and can only look forward to the lake of fire at the 2nd resurrection after they die?
8. If Jesus came in 70 AD, do those who were not ready at that time have a second chance after that "rapture?" Does this teach "another gospel?"
9. If there is no future antichrist, or false prophet, no mark of the beast, no future tribulation, no future problems as depicted in the seals, trumpets and vials of Revelation, no future "catching away" of the saints, no future millennial kingdom, then is all that remains for us only a final judgment?
10. When did the merchants of the earth wax rich from the merchandise of Mystery Babylon prior to 70 AD?
11. When were all nations deceived by Mystery Babylon's sorceries before 70AD?
12. When did ALL nations drink of the wine of Mystery Babylon's fornication before 70 AD?
13. How could the whore (Mystery Babylon) be devoured in 70 AD and yet still be present today?
14. How can Revelation 18:23 be fulfilled when candles are still burning in Jerusalem?
15. How can Revelation 18:23 be fulfilled when the voice of the bride and the bridegroom is still heard in Jerusalem?
16. How has the wrath of God already been poured out on all who oppose Him while some who oppose Him today have not yet received it? Is God a respecter of persons?
17. How is the marriage supper in Matthew 22 the same as the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD when the "son" in Matthew 22 did not resurrect?
18. Since Jerusalem still exists today, did Jesus fail in His attempt to destroy Jerusalem at His "cloud coming" in 70AD? Was the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem only a partial, or temporary, destruction?
19. The Preterists say the Roman army was the abomination that brought desolation on Jerusalem (Israel). How is the Roman army and it's destruction of Jerusalem, a physical city, a greater abomination than Israel's own idolatry? Wasn't it Jesus who pronounced desolation upon them (Luke 13:35)?
20. The Roman army did eventually overrun Jerusalem and destroy the temple, but who killed the most Jews? Was it the Roman army or did the Jews kill more of their own? Were not the Jews killing each other inside the walls of Jerusalem also?
21. Larry Smith says that 95% of all prophesy was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. If that is true, then most of the Bible is only history and has very little for us today. How do we know what part of the Bible is still valid? Does Smith's doctrine add to or take away from the prophecies of the Book of Revelation?
22. Smith also says the 3-1/2 years it took for Jerusalem to be destroyed was the "Time of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). How can the "Time of the Gentiles" be limited to such a short period since Jerusalem has been trodden down of the Gentiles ever since?
23. What was there before the "Time of the Gentiles" and what is there after the "Time of the Gentiles?"
24. Romans 11:25 says, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." If, as you say, the "time of the Gentiles" ended at the destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) does that mean Israel has no more blindness, or does it mean that Israel is completely blind?
25. How can Christ's 2nd coming be only an act of Judgment when Scripture says that when He returns he will also bring His reward with Him (Matt 16:27; Rev 22:12), and we will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye?
26. Preterists say the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD is the sign that the Son of Man is ruling in heaven. When has there been a time when He did not rule in heaven?
27. Acts 1:9 says, "...a cloud received him (Jesus) out of their sight," and Acts 1:11 says, "... this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." The preterists focus on the cloud (verse 9) and not on Jesus, but did the cloud take Him up or did it just receive Him?
28. The preterists say that Jesus came again in 70 AD "in judgment." Some say that receiving of the Holy Ghost is a "coming of the Lord." If it is, is that also an act of Judgment?
29. Larry Smith says the blood mentioned as part of the sounding of the 1st trumpet in Revelation 8:7 is the Blood of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Besides pure spiritualization, where is the connection?
30. Larry Smith also says the restoration of Israel was completed at Calvary. How can that be when no Jews were born into the kingdom of God until Pentecost?
31. Have there not also been Jews born into the kingdom of God since Calvary, even in modern times?
32. If the resurrection is past as say the Preterists (at the resurrection of Christ), how can there be a "Last Day Resurrection?"
33. Has the Last Day already happened? Is the "Last Day" somewhere in past history?
34. When speaking of a building, what constitutes a "temple? Must we use the pattern of the tabernacle in the wilderness, or Solomon's Temple, or perhaps the Temple rebuilt in Zerubbabel's time, or could it be any place designated to be a place of worship?"
35. Ezekiel 11 was a prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BC by the Babylonians. How do the Preterists consider it to be instead speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD?
36. Why do the Preterists hold to the belief that the Book of the Revelation was written before 70 AD when the evidence does not point that way? Consider the following:
Eusebius, a 4th century historian, reported that John was on the Isle of Patmos during the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81-96). Eusebius stated that after the reign of Domitian ended in 96 AD, during Nerva's reign, the senate freed exiles to allow them to return home. It was at that time that John was allowed to leave the Isle of Patmos (between 96 and 98 AD.)
This information is also consistent with the writings of Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria.
Holman's Bible dictionary states that, "From about A.D. 150, Christian authors usually referred to Domitian's reign (A.D. 81-96) as the time of John's writing, (Revelation)..." It goes on to state that, "most New Testament scholars have opted for the later date under Domitian (about A.D. 95)
According to "The New Unger's Bible Dictionary," the main "scholars" who date the writing of the Revelation as 68 or 69 AD are: Westcott, Hort, Lightfoot, and Salmon. (Westcott & Hort? Enough said.) The same source (Unger's) states that the "scholars" who use the later date (95 or 96 AD) include: (Henry Barclay) Swete, (George) Milligan, (James) Moffatt, Zahn, and Halley. The later date is also shown in "Hastings Bible Dictionary," Tyndale's "New Bible Dictionary" and "Thompson's Chain Reference Bible."