Originally posted by Evee
Thanks,
So where is Satan at now?
Many people think he still has an influence.
What about all the evil in the world now?
I would think it would not be?
Will the world ever be free of famines and evil?
I thought it would be over.
Why does God tolerate all this evil in the world?
Murders, Rape, Child abuse and starvation?
If he is with us why is all this still going on and when will it stop? Sorry for throwing out so many questions. Evee
Thats OK, these are all quesions I once asked too!, and found the answers from the preterist perspective more than adaquate.
For example:
Most Christians believe in eternal, or everlasting, punishment. Even if we propose that it is the Devil and "the beast and the false prophet"
(Rev. 20:10) who are the only ones who suffer eternally, that would still add up to a cosmos wherein sin and suffering continue forever and ever. To have planet Earth free from sin and suffering while sin and suffering continue elsewhere for eternity (i.e., "the lake of fire") does not solve the philosophical problem of the existence of sin and suffering. Therefore the idea of a universe in which sin and suffering continue for eternity is not at all a uniquely preterist problem. Unless you are a Universalist or an annihilationist, it seems that your objection may have more to do with the locale of sin and suffering than with the mere existence of it.
Now, it is true that preterists see no prophecy in the Bible which says that every individual on planet Earth will one day be absolutely and literally and in every sense free from all sin and suffering. In fact, preterists do see verses that indirectly say that the existence of sin will continue "forever." Here are some of the verses:
Ps. 110:4: "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
Since Christ is a Priest on behalf of sinners "forever," we may infer that sinners will exist on earth "forever" to enjoy the ministry of forgiveness of sins in Christ.
Rev. 14:6: "...the Everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth..." (Rev. 14:6).
Since the Gospel, which sole purpose is to call sinners on earth to salvation, is "everlasting," this implies that sinners will be born on earth everlastingly to enjoy the blessings of the Gospel.
In Rev. 22:2, on "the new earth," we see the "Tree of life" that yields fruit every month, the
"leaves" of which are "for the healing of the nations" (Rev. 22:2). This teaches us that in the new earth, "the nations" are in need of continual healing.
I want to make clear that in light of these passages, we must know that the existence of sin in the universe in no way implies the victory of sin. Nor does the continued existence of sin in the universe at all imply a "stalemate" between righteousness and sin. If it did, then we would be forced to say that God has as of yet won zero decisive victories over sin, since sin still exists. The idea that the mere existence of sin in the universe implies the non-victory of righteousness in the universe is an existential philosophy that devalues all that has thus far been wrought by the cross of Christ.
It seems that some people will never be satisfied with anything less than a fleshly utopia that is characterized by absolute "behavioral errorlessness" throughout the entire universe (except for in hell). In contrast to this idea of how the universe should be, God says that He created
"vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" in order "that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy."
Sin exists, yet God is victorious over sin every day: "Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the Land, so as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity"
(Ps. 101:8).
The world in which we live is not "the best of all possible worlds" for the wicked. But it is the best of all possible worlds,
"to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).
Now, to narrow in on your question, "What do preterists say about the world?":
In view of the fact that God said His creation is "very good," and remembering that God promised to never again curse the ground or destroy mankind as He did in Noah's day, we cannot possibly expect that God will bring a cataclysmic judgment to end the generations of mankind. It should further come as no surprise to find that the Scriptures tell us that the Kingdom, and the generations of man, and the earth itself are all to continue "forever"
(Ps. 104:5; 145:13; Eccl. 1:4; Dan. 4:3,34; 7:14,18,27; Lk. 1:33; Eph. 3:21).
Some will say that if this is the case, if history is to continue indefinitely with the existence of sin and with no "Second Coming" to bring it to a termination, then that must mean that mankind is stuck in a "status quo" cycle of endless, "go-no-where" history. However, to see that history cannot be so characterized in the full preterist view, we need only to consider the conquering nature of Christ's Kingdom.
The Bible describes the Kingdom of Christ on earth as a kingdom that will increase until it covers "the whole earth" "as the waters cover the sea"
(Isa. 11:9; Dan 2:35; cf. Matt. 13:33). According to the Scriptures, it will increase on earth until all of God's enemies are "under His feet"
(I Cor. 15:25). The Scriptures further say that the Kingdom will bring blessing to "all the families of the earth"
(Gen. 12:3; Ps. 22:7); to "all the nations"
(Matt. 28:19; Ps. 72:17; Ps. 86:9); to "all men"
(Isa. 66:23), even to "the very ends of the earth"
(Ps. Ps. 2:8; 22:27; 72:8; Isa. 11:9; Zech. 9:10; Acts 1:8; 13:47).
Though preterists see the above "dominion verses" as being fulfilled in 70AD (and so interpret the verses synecdochically and hyperbolically), preterists necessarily infer from those passages what is the divine character / nature of the Church. The above descriptions of the Church's first-century victory in the world invariable betoken the Church's progressive dominion throughout history
. For the Church did not stop being the Church after it was established in 70. Rather,it was established conquering and it forever conquers to the glory of Christ! As the Scriptures teach:
"May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines...." (Ps. 72:17).
"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...." (Isa. 9:7).
Yet the futurists ask incredulously, "Toward what is history progressing if sin continues to exist and history is not going to end?"
The goal is none other than that every man of every nation, through the power of the Gospel, attain unto that for which mankind was created: To love God with all his heart, soul and mind, and his neighbor as himself
(Matt. 22:37-39; Mk. 12:30-31; Lk. 10:27-28). We must not think that the continued existence of sin on earth invalidates the possibility or the perfection of the realization of that goal.
Preterists do not know future events, but we are fully confident in the fact that whatever the conquering Savior pleases to do, He does, on earth as in heaven
(Ps. 135:6). And when we consider the divine eternality of the Church on earth and her progressive divine dominion, we know that her future, and hence the future of humanity, will be filled to overflowing with innumerable blessings which are even now utterly impossible for us to grasp. For what wonders will God work in and through His more-than-conquering Church after 10,000 years of ecclesiastical progress, or after 1,000,000 years of victory? Only God can know
(Eccl. 3:11). What we do know is that in Christ Jesus our Creator and our Redeemer, the future of mankind on earth under His dominion will surely be "exceeding abundantly" and incomprehensibly wonderful....
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21).
This is all new too me. 
