The Dating of Revelation - Don Preston Review #12

September 24, 2013 Joshua Torrey

Note: Don Preston is a full preterist and therefore his teaching cannot receive full or blind acceptance. His many videos on YouTube are worthy of listening and interacting with in a timeline manner.

@2:38: We're going to have some fun looking at Isaiah 25-27 today. Mr Preston point specifically to Isaiah 25:8 as the hammer of his argument,

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken. - Isaiah 25:8

There is some interesting stuff here. It would seem that John alludes to this in Revelation 21:4. Perhaps I will return to an evaluation of this later.

@3:33: I actually come down in the middle of the road here. Mr Preston is thoroughly wrong and Joel McDurmon should have known better. The absence of a word could be entirely crucial if it can be shown that there is one resurrection in two natures. I think this can be shown from Ezekiel 37, Daniel 12:1-3 and John 5:25-29.

@3:52: Mr Preston is referring here to 1 Corinthians 15:54. There Paul is literally saying "then this will become" which is often translated "come true" or "come to pass". I will counter with the broad and overly general statement that death truly has been destroyed (Heb 2:14-15) such that its spiritual power is no longer prevalent. Mr Preston is hoping to force the "time text" of Isaiah 24 into complete fulfillment in AD 70 and thus also Paul. But this is unwise if death has already been defeated and yet remains to be fulfilled as defeated. The "death" of being separated from the presence of God (Gen 3:22-24; BBC) has been reversed. John is speaking of this in Revelation 21:4 as well.

@4:50: Now some of Mr Preston's full preterism comes out. Fun stuff this heresy. Isaiah 26:19 does not need to speak of a material resurrection though I will admit the argument is strong (Gen 3:19; BBC). I truly see this being fulfilled by Christ in His ministry. He says as much,

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. - John 5:25-29

It is foolish to try and lump these two events together. And it is even more of a stretch to bring in the "martyr vindication" imagery into the picture.

@6:44: This is one of those times when Mr Preston has sever tunnel vision. This whole set of descriptions could describe the original destruction of the temple. And yet it goes unmentioned. Also going unmentioned is that Isaiah 27:6 explicitly changes the time reference from the start of the chapter and the prophecy he is reading back into those other events.

Morning Musings: Revelation is about the fulfillment of not only Jesus' prophecies, but, of the OT prophecies made to Israel. And those prophecies deal with the vindication of the martyrs at the time of the resurrection! This is huge, so take a look and pass it on! MM-380