In part 1, I described the many inconsistencies I found in my futurist and partial preterist views. Now I had to understand how the resurrection had happened.
The resurrection was from Sheol to Heaven
At this point I felt like I got a little help from the Lord, or at least my mind put two and two together. I already knew saints (Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14) and sinners (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10) in the old covenant went to a place called Sheol when they died or it’s greek equivalent “Hades” (Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:31). They did not go to heaven (John 3:13, Acts 2:34).
When people died in the old covenant they went to Sheol not heaven. Even after Jesus died they still went to Sheol. They didn’t start going to heaven till the resurrection.
This thought made everything coherent. What if the resurrection was invisible because they weren’t being resurrected to earth, but were being resurrected to heaven?
Suddenly the scriptures could be understood in one cohesive manner. The evidence didn’t stop there. The more I researched, I found this interpretation to faithfully hold up in every verse save a few ambiguious ones (Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Philippians 1:23, Acts 7:59, 1 Peter 3:18-20). I address those verses in part 3.
1 Corinthians made this very obvious:
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What passage is he quoting from?
Hosea 13:14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
Paul says the resurrection was yet to happen in fulfillment of Hosea. However, Hosea describes this as a resurrection from Sheol, not a resurrection from Heaven. Jesus was not rescuing them from Heaven to a new life on earth, he was rescuing them from Sheol to a new life in Heaven.
I had been worried about going to Sheol
During my research, I had uncovered that there were only a few ambiguious verses in the new testament that suggested we would go to Heaven after we die. I already listed them above. This was troubling to me at the time, afterall, I didn’t want to wait in Sheol for the resurrection.
Finally this theory was making sense. The reason the New Testament didn’t speak of going to Heaven right after we die was because they were still waiting for the resurrection. But to us today, that resurrection has already happened and thus we believers go straight to Heaven when we die not Sheol.
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
How Jesus meant to communicate “soon” in our terms
Luke 21:32 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
I carefully considered if Jesus meant the currently living generation with this verse or meant “this Hebrew race” as the greek word permits, or perhaps even, “that generation” that would see those events.
However, I had to conclude, that whatever Jesus meant by it, the disciples thought it would happen soon to them. Over and over, they said it was about to happen. This especially becomes evident when you look at the greek word mello.
Then I wondered, “What if when Jesus and the disciples said it would happen soon they all meant something else?” But, they didn’t just say it would happen soon, they acted as if it would happen soon. They behaved in a way that showed they were ready for the event to happen within their lifetime.
They were careful not to get drunk (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8), they would meet together more and more frequently as they saw the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25), they were told to be prepared for action (1 Peter 1:13), they were warned about what to expect in the last days, they did not make long term investments in the world (1 Corinthians 7:29-31), some would avoid marriage (1 Corinthians 7:26), they would avoid taking the rich to court for their crimes (James 5:9), all because they expected this event to happen soon. Their actions proved that when they said it would happen soon, they believed just that.
If Jesus didn’t return and judge the dead we would have to conclude the disciples were mistaken. And where does that leave Jesus? The disciples were mistaken because they trusted Jesus’s words and Paul’s who received the revelation directly from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 1:12). Jesus is left either mistaken as well or misleading. And which of those options are better?
In the words of C.S. Lewis in “The World’s Last Night”:
“The apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘This generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ And He was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.”
What C.S. Lewis doesn’t realize is Paul also received this revelation directly from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 1:12) and God vouched for Jesus saying:
Isaiah 53:9 “nor was any deceit in his mouth”
God and the Holy Spirit’s reputation are also at stake. But I believe our faith to be real, the Bible to be true, and God not to be a liar.
How I was unintentionally calling Jesus a false prophet
Some futurists argue that Jesus was intentionally being misleading so that we would always be ready and doing good works. He meant them to think it would happen in their generation, but he himself knew it would happen thousands of years later. I had assumed this belief myself, but realized in doing so, I was calling Jesus a false prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
If we say Jesus, the prophets, or the disciples communicated that this event would happen within a certain timeframe and did not, we are essentially calling them false prophets. In that case, the Bible says not to pay attention to the prophecy and not to fear it (Deuteronomy 18:22).
Then I thought, “the prophecy still will come true in the future and hasn’t been proved false,” but this passage says “but his prediction does not happen or come true,” showing that it is judged by time, not just content. If Jesus included in his prophecy a timeframe, that it would come to pass within this generation, while some were still living, before they had gone through all the streets of Israel (Matthew 10:23) then this means it had to come true within that timeframe to be valid.
And I knew Jesus, the disciples, and the prophets of old were genuine prophets, not false.
This fueled my passion for full preterism. I didn’t want to be a full preterist, but I saw no other way to uphold God’s integrity and refute it.
Maybe I had been like the pharisees who rejected Jesus because he didn’t come in the way they expected.
The New Heavens and New Earth according to Isaiah
At this point I began sharing the news with my spouse and family. I quickly realized how disappointing it came across to them. If this was the New Heaven and Earth why was there still pain and sin? What are we still doing here?
I felt the Lord directed me to read the whole book of Isaiah. I had never done so before in my life. But that night, I sat down and read it beginning to end.
I had a perspective reading this time I had never had before. Before, I would think God was being inconsistent with Israel, one minute judging them, the next minute lifting them up. I used to think it was describing their journey all throughout history.
But then I saw it! It wasn’t God going back and forth on Israel, he was describing two different Israels. One by the flesh, those who are physically born Abraham’s decendants, and those who are spiritually Abraham’s decendants, or us Christians made up of both Jews and Gentiles.
In Isaiah, God is talking about the ending of unbelieving Israel and the promotion of faithful spiritual Israel. In specific, he’s talking about the events of 70AD, how unbelieving Israel would be destroyed and faithful Israel, the persecuted Christians, would inherit the new Jerusalem.
The New Heaven and Earth
The New Heavens and New Earth represented God’s Kingdom finally arriving, the final Kingdom prophesied in Daniel. When a kingdom or dynasty passes that “age” or “era” ends. The shaking of Heaven and Earth was a metaphor representing this change in government. It represented the kingdoms and leaders of this world being shaken or a new power being established.
Haggai 2:6-9 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty…”
20-23 20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23 “‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
When God shook the Heavens and Earth during the reign of Zerubbabel, royal earthly thrones and governmental powers and their armies fell while Zerubbabel was promoted. The world didn’t end. Also read Judges 5.
Hebrews 12:26-28 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe
Notice that us receiving the Kingdom is synonymous with the Heavens and Earth shaking.
The way I understand this idiom: just as Heaven commands and the Earth obeys, so there was a new dynasty (represented by Heaven) that had authority to command it’s subjects (the earth) to obey.
Daniel prophesied that 4 kingdoms would exist before God’s Kingdom became established:
Daniel 2:32 (Parentheses mine)
- The head of this image was of fine gold (Babylonian Empire),
- its chest and arms of silver (Persian Empire (Medo-Persian Empire)),
- its middle and thighs of bronze (Greek Empire of Alexander the Great),
- 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay (Roman Empire).
- 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (God’s Kingdom).
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
God’s kingdom has no end and Jesus frequently prophesied that this Kingdom was near. Though God is invisible, we understand that now he rules this world through Christians and the Church and his Kingdom is authoritative here. There will still be coming ages and eras of rulers and dynasties but God will be directing all of them according to his Kingdom which is now ultimately in charge:
Daniel 4:17 so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people
Ephesians 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
The New Heavens and Earth don’t describe the ending of the universe, but rather the arrival of God’s prophesied Kingdom dominating and shaking all kingdoms opposed to it. In that moment, he had vindicated and delivered a new people, us Christians, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, proving them to truly be his people and subjects. Up until that time there was debate between unbelieving Jews and and Christians about which of them were God’s true covenant family. God settled that debate finally while at the same time delivering them from their persecution and showing his support forever.
The Defeat of Death
The Bible never promises the end of physical death. However there was a different kind of death that needed to be defeated. After physical death, the righteous would go to Sheol, also known as Hades, the gates of the dead, they would not go to Heaven to be in God’s presence.
In fact, all prophesies in the Old Testament depicted physical life and death continuing in the new Heavens and Earth:
Isaiah 66:22-23 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord.
Notice time still exists, respresented by the moons and Saturdays and there continue to be future generations of decendants, implying that they would still pass away over time.
Notice also the parellel in Revelation 21 and Isaiah 60 speaking of a time after the new Heavens and Earth are created:
Revelation 21:25-26 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Isaiah 60:11-12
Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
Notice that Revelation is getting it’s material from Isaiah 60. Isaiah 60 prophesies that the gates of the city will never be shut so that the glory and honor (weath and kings) of the nations may be brought into it. But Isaiah adds a detail:
For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish
Now, if the new Heavens and Earth don’t include physical death how can nations perish?
Revelation 21:8, written chronologically after the new Heavens and Earth says this same thing
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
How can we say there is no evil in the new Heavens and Earth when evil still must perish?
The death that was defeated was afterlife death for the righteous or in other words, Sheol. Since the new Heavens and Earth were established, believers now go to Heaven when they physically die, not Sheol.
Revelation 21:4 and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the death shall not be any more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain, because the first things did go away.’
Isaiah 65:20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
This is actually a mistranslation (MS Cheo).
Isa 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days; an old man who hath not filled his days: that a young man shall die a hundred years old; a sinning hundred years old shall be accursed.
This is actually saying that God’s people would live forever and sinners (those outside the Kingdom) would still perish.
Now we would ask, if Isaiah says there would be no more death for Christians, why do Christians still die today?
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
If Christians have still physically died after believing in Christ how can Christ promise we never die? Because this isn’t a promise of never physically dying, it’s a promise of never spiritually dying, that is, going to Sheol when we die. Sheol was defeated when Jesus arrived in 70AD and from thence forth all believers go directly to Heaven when their earthly bodies fade and thus no longer “die.” They still exist and have consciousness in Heaven forever.
No more sadness
Revelation 21:4 and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the death shall not be any more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain, because the first things did go away.’
Why does the Bible say there will be no more sadness? It is because we are no longer separate from God, we are now united with Him both in this life and in Heaven afterwards. This is because the “first things,” that is the Old Covenant which separated us from God, has passed away.
1 Corinthians 15:55-56 where, O Death, thy sting? where, O Hades, thy victory?’ and the sting of the death is the sin, and the power of the sin the law;
Life under the law was sorrowful because it condemned us to be separate from God’s presence both in this life and the next. With no more law to condemn us, we celebrate knowing that we have full access to God’s presence.
Hebrews 9:8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.
When the Temple fell, we were allowed in the Most Holy Place (or Heaven) to enjoy God’s presence forever.
Other promises
What about about the disappointment of my family and friends? Are we left here helpless?
Not at all, God’s Kingdom now rules this earth in ways we don’t always see.
Christians are given promises of great wealth (Isaiah 61:6), honor, vindication by God (Isaiah 62:2), deliverance from our enemies, great peace (Isaiah 54:13), no more judgement, anger, or wrath from God towards us Christians (Isaiah 54:9, Isaiah 65:22). We are promised if anyone attacks us it will not be from God and they will surrender (Isaiah 54:15). We are promised God’s glory would spread to every nation to the ends of the earth and it’s kings would bring their wealth and glory to us (Isaiah 9:7). God said that nations that do not serve us will perish (Isaiah 60:12, Daniel 2:44). The Lord will take delight in us and call us married (Isaiah 62). Jews and Gentiles would live in peace and be united through faith (Romans 15, Isaiah 11, 65:25). God himself tells us to not give him any rest until he makes us the praise of the earth (Isaiah 62:7). Notice there is still preaching that continues in the new age (Daniel 12:2-3).
I can look through church history to see how this is true. Christianity has greatly prospered since the times of Nero. Some estimate there are now 2.2 billion Christians on the earth, making it the largest religion in the world. The kings and nations brought their wealth into it. This was true of the Roman empire, and France, and many other nations. At times when the world went downhill, the church stayed blessed. When we were persecuted or attacked in the end we were always victorious.
As I continued to study parallel passages, I found the Bible intended to communicate that the new Heavens and Earth would happen at the Son of Man’s appearance and the Great White throne judgement was the same judgement as the Son of Man’s appearance.
What about God coming down out of heaven?
Before when God would dwell with man he would do so in a temple that the high priest was only allowed to visit once a year. Now with the establishment of the new covenant in 70AD, God dwells in our midst and in all our hearts! We can come into his presence anytime, not just once a year!
What hope is there for this world?
Far more than before! We have every blessing the early Christians were hoping and waiting for! The prophecies of Isaiah belong to us. And we have far more motivation and purpose on this earth than futurism allowed. This starts with a very honest question:
Why would we put time and effort into making this world a better place if God is simply going to destroy it and possibly recreate it again in the future? Is our hope simply escaping here and going to heaven? N. T. Wright claims that his view of the end times give us purpose here.
N. T. Wright “What we do here matters.”
He goes on to explain our work will somehow be included in God’s establishment of the Kingdom on this earth. But he leaves an open-ended and honest question. Why am I spending so much effort trying to make this world a better place if God plans to do it with the snap of his fingers when he returns? We are left feeling like a builder who was tasked with building an office and after spending months of strenuous effort found out that the company hiring him planned on wrecking it down and rebuilding it again from scratch.
It’s like that line from Iron Man 2. They spent so much effort fighting off the bad guys and at the very end Iron Man shot a very powerful laser that destroyed all of them at once. Then War Machine looked at him and said, maybe next time lead with that.
But I am not saying we are simply going to die, go to Heaven, and that be the end of the story. That also presents a worthless existence. God does have a long term plan for this world, but it evolves slowly, not all at once, through the work of his people and God himself.
Isaiah 9:7 “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore…”
God is transforming this earth to be like Heaven and He’s accomplishing this plan through us, his Christians, working together with Him.
Matthew 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 13:31-32 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches
Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
What the earth looks like today will by no means be what it looks like 500 years from now. We have a promise by God that his Kingdom, peace, justice, and ruling would consume this earth progressively. Already there are 2.2 billion Christians. What a massive increase from 12 disciples! I believe there will come a day when the whole earth is Christian.
Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I believe God had a purpose for the invention of electricity. I don’t believe the sun is going to collide with the earth or that the planet is going to be destroyed. I don’t believe the earth is getting worse and worse or that AI is going to destroy everything or there will be a global nuclear disaster. God plans on keeping the earth around and fully increasing his Kingdom on it.
This gives us hope and purpose for the earth’s future. Our work here does matter because God is working alongside us to move the earth according to his will in Heaven. Our efforts aren’t going to be replaced in an instant. The good things we accomplish here with God will make a lasting impact for those ahead of us and God will use those things to establish his Kingdom here. Evil cannot be conquered in a day, God already tried that with Noah.
This is a far better message than we have ever heard. We are part of God’s plan to carry out his Kingdom and throughout our lives we have access to his permanent favor, blessings, and assistance.
I still have many questions and I could be wrong on serveral of these points. I am not a scholar, simply a person interested in knowing the truth. But that began my journey into full-preterism, and I will likely remain so until I find good evidence to dismiss it.
I hope you were encouraged and will continue reading on the subject.