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More on Heaven and Earth
By Don K. Preston
Preston Heresy Page
It is unfortunate that modern Bible students are not more familiar with Biblical terminology. The term "heaven and earth" is an example where careful study will reveal weaknesses in traditional interpretations.
In Isaiah 51:15-16 Jehovah, speaking to Israel, said he gave them the Mosaic Covenant, "that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You are my people."
[The New International Version incorrectly translates this verse. Check out almost any other translation].
Jehovah said he gave Israel his law to establish "heaven and earth." Patently, this cannot be the physical "heaven and earth;" that was in existence long before God gave the law to Israel! God was saying that he gave His law to Israel to establish their "world."
Is it difficult to see then that when Jesus said "until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law, until all be fulfilled" that what he was saying was that Israel's world had to pass away? He was not speaking about physical heaven and earth passing!
In Matthew 24 Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the very center of the Jewish world. Referring to the passing of that system, and in direct contrast to HIS WORLD that was to be established, Jesus said "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away," Matthew 24:35. You see, one world was to pass, the Old World of Law; and a New World was to be created, the World of Messiah. It will never pass away!
Hebrews 12:25ff spoke of the passing of the "heaven and earth" so that the unshakable kingdom might remain. It says they were at that time "receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken," vs. 28. Since the heaven and earth were to be shaken/removed so that the unshakable could remain, and since they were at that time receiving the unshakable kingdom, it follows that the "heavens and earth" was being removed at that time! Again, not physical heaven and earth, but the Old World of Israel, created and sustained by the Law was about to be completely destroyed when Jerusalem and the Temple fell in 70 AD.
Other passages in the New Testament speak of the "heavens and earth" in the same manner with no reference to the physical heaven and earth, II Peter 3, Revelation 21, etc. It is time for Bible students to begin to give proper recognition to the way the Bible uses terminology!
What do YOU think ?
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todd @ preteristarchive.com
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Warning: "Full
Preterist" material is being archived for balanced representation of all
Christian Preterist views, but its premise is deemed by the opinion of
the curator (a
former full preterist) to be "toxic theology." Due to its
brash and "letter-based" appeal to the flesh and "things seen," it very
subtly draws people away from the truth of the Spirit and His "unseen things"
(core components of the system being extra-biblical history and logic -- because there is
not one full preterist verse which looks back to
fulfillment in ad70,
it is based entirely upon deductive reasoning). If you have already
adopted this viewpoint, please seriously consider that according to full
preterism, AD70 was not only the end of Old Testament Judaism, but it was also
the end of the revelation of Christianity as seen in the New Testament.
This is done by teaching that AD70 was a "dispensational line"
regarding resurrection and the like which makes the Christianity of the New Testament
fundamentally different from that of today. Please also note that the earliest
known adherents of full preterism later abandoned it, as have many contemporary
former full preterists, including the curator of this archive (after a
decade of promotion). The article
which follows is deemed "hyper preterist" in nature
-- so please proceed with extreme caution. If this article is not "full
preterist," please notify me and I will have it reclassified.
