We have believed the Christ and have loved him. We want to please him and be faithful to him. It is his gospel, his kingdom, his covenant. We serve him. So, sure, we want to please him and if we’ve gained a more accurate insight, we feel compelled by our love for Christ to share that. Just about everyone who believes in Jesus and the bible believe they grow and gain insight. What has been happening in preterism is this process, and the joy of discovery that goes with it. But I want to share a word of caution with encouragement.

Years ago, in approximately 1969-1970, I was a ministry student at Harding University, a terrific school with a great faculty. I held a traditional amillennial view of eschatology. My boat was rocked when I became aware of teaching by Max King in nearby Warren, Ohio that biblical eschatology was not about the end times of our planet occurring in our future, but rather about the end times of the old covenant and its age with the arrival of the messiah’s covenant and age, completely fulfilling all God’s promises and prophetic utterances. As I studied, I found this to be entirely consistent with the actual bible texts. Though taking these views has created difficulties for me over the years, I rejoice with more excitement than ever. I’m so very glad God has allowed me to see (at least in some measure) the wonders of his fulfilled presence.

I heard Max King speak and teach before he wrote his first book, The Spirit Of Prophecy. I later read the book and subsequent writings. One of the things I learned to appreciate about this man is his commitment to integrity of scripture. As he had studied and changed his views on things, he did not rush out, early in the process, and blab superficial thoughts as they came to mind. He searched, researched, prayed, studied, thought through, re-thought, examined and tested at great length before presenting. I may not agree with everything he has written or will write, but I will always be appreciative of his thoroughness of study and research. It was a long time before he published The Cross And The Parousia, the most thorough and accurate treatment of biblical eschatology in the twentieth century. And the amount of time was not because of him being slow, but his desire for academic integrity and faithfulness to God’s word. So, what’s my point?

I want to encourage all who write and teach about fulfilled prophecy to have that same desire to be faithful to God’s intent. We can be excited to discover new understanding, and there is nothing wrong with that. But it’s possible to then have a variety of new thoughts and ideas occur to us, and in our joy share them without the prayerful thoroughness described above.

Below I’m going to offer encouragement, not just to any writers or teachers, but I apply these things to myself as well. There are a host of sobering texts that stir us to make the extra effort to share God’s intended message, not just fascinating thoughts that occur to us. In Jeremiah 28:15 & 16 we find this-“ And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” Paul writes in Galatians 1: 6-10 “ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel- not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. “

Here are some encouragements:

A.)Beware of the temptations to write or teach prompted by these motives-

“I want to get acclaim like so and so…”

“I’m a rebel and those other people don’t know anything…”

“I’m a non-conformist…”

“I’m an iconoclast…”

I’ve got a new teaching…”

B.)When we’re dealing with God’s word, understanding it and teaching it, let us use the old carpenter’s rule to the max-“measure twice, cut once”. There is a need to amplify that a lot when considering a new understanding of scripture.

C.) Remember-just because an idea occurs, that doesn’t make it so. I have experienced having an idea, being fascinated with it, and it seeming so right…and later it turning out to be a wrong idea. And why did it seem so right at the time? Because there was information I had not yet come across that had a bearing on the issue, and the absence of that information is what caused the idea to seem so valid.

D.) Keep in mind the lesson of the young prophet in 1 Kings 13. It’s in there for a reason.

E.) For those who like “7 STEP PLANS”, here’s one-

1. Earnestly desire to be a faithful servant & steward

2. Pray

3. Examine motives

4. Don’t rush to judgment

5. Invite feedback

6. Be non-defensive

7. Remember whose truth it is

We all need to learn and grow and change. And we need to do so with appropriate awe and respect for God’s holy inspired word.

“ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.”

( 2 Corinthians 4:6-7).