Category Archives: AD 70

KEY PRETERIST PRINCIPLES

AD 70, Interpretation, Preterism September 23, 2022 Comments: 2

PMW 2022-072 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Modern postmillennialism is largely, though not solely, committed to a particular interpretive tool known as “preterism.” This tool is helpful for explaining many of the catastrophic judgment passages as features of the founding of Christianity in the first century rather than evidence for the decline of Christianity in the final century.

However, postmillennialists do not adopt this interpretive approach in order to avoid a negative impact on their eschatological system. Rather, preterism arises naturally from a careful reading of the biblical text. Continue reading →

AD 70 & THE TEMPLE’S FAILURE (2)

AD 70, Revelation, Temple August 19, 2022 Leave a comment

PMW 2022-062 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

I am completing a brief study on the Jewish temple’s failure through abuse, showing the necessity of its destruction under God’s wrath in AD 70. My previous article should be consulted for context.

Interestingly, on several occasions before Christ’s coming, the temple undergoes cleansings because of profanations by Ahaz (2Ch 29:12ff), Mannaseh (2Ch 34:3ff), Tobiah (New 13:4-19), and Antiochus (1Mac 4:36ff; 2Mac 10:1ff). The temple of Christ’s day is also corrupt, for Christ himself symbolically cleanses it when he opens his ministry (Jo 2:13-17) and as he closes it (Mt 21:12-13) — even though it is under the direct, daily, fully-functioning administration of the high priesthood. Continue reading →

AD 70 & THE TEMPLE’S FAILURE (1)

AD 70, Temple August 16, 2022 Leave a comment

PMW 2022-061 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

AD 70 is an important date in redemptive-history. In that year the ancient temple of Israel was destroyed, never to be rebuilt. This catastrophe is anticipated in the OT. Over and over again the temple cult is disparaged by the OT prophets when Israel falls into sin: Isa 1:10-17; 29:13; 43:23-24; Jer 6:20; 7:1-6, 21-22; 11:15; Eze 20:25; Hos 6:5-6; Am 4:4-5; 5:21-25; 9:1; Mic 6:1-8; Mal 1:10. Jeremiah even presents God as dramatically denying he ever directed Israel to sacrifice: “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you’ “ (Jer 7:22-23). Continue reading →

A NEW HYPERPRETERISM REBUTTAL

AD 70, hyperpreterism, Resurrection July 29, 2022 Leave a comment

PMW 2022-057 Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Though Hyperpreterism (a.k.a. Full Preterism) remains a small movement, it also remains a tenacious and noisy one. While Hyperpreterists believe they are giving sound advice regarding biblical interpretation and scriptural eschatology, they provide 99% sound and only 1% advice.

Yet Hyperpreterism does exist and it is present in some evangelical communities and local churches. Therefore, it is deserving of evangelical critiques. And Steve Gregg has provided a helpful, large-scale critique and rebuttal of this eschatological error, titled: Why Not Full-Preterism? A Partial-Preterist Response to a Novel Theological Innovation. Gregg is the host of the national Christian talk show, The Narrow Path. He is also the author of the invaluable book Revelation: Four Views: A Parallel Commentary (1997; rev. 2013).

Continue reading →

IS THE “END OF THE AGE” AD 70?

AD 70, Last Days, Preterism May 17, 2022 Comments: 2

PMW 2022-038 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

I am not always able to engage in theological discussion by email, due to my time constraints and the number of requests for such that I receive. But occasionally I will engage a discussion briefly. Here is one I just had with a PostmillennialWorldview reader. It regards the two-age structure of history.

PMW reader wrote:

I have a question to throw in the works if I may: Matthew 24:3 says ” What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

This could mean the end of the Old Testament age. I back this up with Jesus comments on the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will not be forgiven “in this age or the age to come” (Matthew 12:32.) Continue reading →

REVELATION’S 42 MONTH TREADING

AD 70, Preterism, Revelation April 5, 2022 Leave a comment

Roman soldiersPMW 2022-027 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Revelation must be understood preteristically. That is, we must recognize that John was primarily writing about the Jewish War which led to the September AD 70 destruction of the Jewish temple and the conclusion of biblical (Torah-based) Judaism.

In Rev 11:1–2 we read a much debated passage: “There was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, ‘Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.’” Continue reading →

RESURRECTION, PAUL, & ACTS 24:15 (2)

AD 70, Preterism, Resurrection February 22, 2022 Comments: 2

PMW 2022-15 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In my previous article, I began a brief consideration of Acts 24:14–15. This passage is often used by Hyper-preterists in an attempt to demonstrate that the corporate, public, universal, systematic Christian faith has not been mistaken on one of its foundational doctrines for 2000 years. They mistakenly hold that this passage points to the expectation of a first-century resurrection of the dead.

In my opening article I focused on the lexical issues involved in the key term mellein in this passage. They believe it means “about to,” which it does not. Please read that article to orient yourself to the argument. In this article I will conclude by noting their syntactical and contextual error. Continue reading →