Saturday, October 3, 2009

Gary DeMar and Hyperpreterism

In response to Dr. DeMar's allegedly friendliness toward hyperpreterism, he says:

The big debate among preterists is how far does preterism go? Is all prophecy fulfilled? Full preterists say yes. Partial preterists say no. In between there is a lot of work yet to be done on specific passages. The tendency of full preterists is to fit everything into an A.D. 70 matrix. They do this with 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, 1 Corinthians 15, and Revelation 20. A similar approach is followed with a number of Old Testament prophecies (e.g., Ezek 38–39 and Zech 12). I am willing to listen to their arguments since preterism in its present form is only now coming to its own as we shake off the dust of dispensationalism that has so distorted our interpretation of prophecy. I am willing to cut those full preterists some slack who are attempting to do real exegetical work. Many partial preterists are not willing to do this. To my mind, this approach is counterproductive. Honest analysis of the Bible is required. I want to be challenged by the best arguments possible, whether they come from full preterists or dispensationalists. I refuse to adopt a position because I’ve been told to do so. To quote Posey from The Dirty Dozen, "I don’t like being pushed."

Although I have utmost respect for Dr. DeMar ( and recommend his works), I do find some of his statements on hyperpreterism troublesome. Even though he's not a hyperpreterist, he does not see it as heresy! Roderick Edwards states (Posted on 30 Aug 2009 at 11:50 am):

===========================
===========================

===========================
===========================