Biblical Minimalism and "The History of Preterism" | Gary DeMar | Partial Preterism
A "Shred of Evidence" from the Didache
The Didache, also known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," is probably the oldest surviving extant piece of non-canonical literature. It claims to have been written by the twelve apostles, but this cannot be proved. While the full text of the Didache was not rediscovered until 1873, there are references to it in
Clement of Alexandria's
Miscellanies,8
Eusebius’s
Ecclesiastical History,9 and
Athanasius’s
Festal Letter.10 The Didache quotes five verses from Matthew 24 (4, 10, 11, 24, 30). The crucial time text of
Matthew 24:34 ("this generation will not pass away") is not quoted, but
Matthew 24:30 is: "The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him.
Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven" (16.7–8). The verses are obviously used to describe future events. Of course, if the Didache was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, then preterists have their "shred of evidence" that Ice says does not exist. Sure enough, a number of scholars believe that the Didache was composed before A.D. 70. In the authoritative work
The Apostolic Fathers, we read the following:
A remarkably wide range of dates, extending from before A.D. 50 to the third century or later, has been proposed for this document. . . . The
Didache may have been put into its present form as late as 150, though a date considerably closer to the end of the first century seems more plausible.
The materials from which it was composed, however, reflect the state of the church at an even earlier time. The relative simplicity of the prayers, the continuing concern to differentiate Christian practice from Jewish rituals (8.1), and in particular the form of church structure--note the twofold structure of bishops and deacons (cf.
Phil. 1:1) and the continued existence of traveling apostles and prophets alongside a resident ministry--
reflect a time closer to that of Paul and James (who died in the 60s) than Ignatius (who died sometime after 110).11
The definitive work on the Didache was written by the French Canadian J.-P. Audet who concluded "that it was composed, almost certainly in Antioch, between 50 and 70."12 In an earlier edition of
The Apostolic Fathers we read a similar conclusion: "In his very thorough commentary J.-P. Audet suggests about A.D. 70, and he is not likely to be off by more than a decade in either direction."13 Even liberal scholars, who tend to date all New Testament documents late, acknowledge the evidence for an early date for the Didache. For example, Stephen J. Patterson comments that the trend is to date the document early, "at least by the end of the first century or the beginning of the second, and in the case of Jean-P. Audet, as early as 50–70 C.E."14 So then, if the
Didache was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as a number of scholars suggest, then its use of Matthew 24 to describe events that were yet to take place, including the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven" (
Matt. 24:30), makes perfect sense given a preterist interpretation of the Olivet
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A "Shred of Evidence" from James the Brother of Jesus
In
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, written in the fourth century, we learn of an incident that lead to the martyrdom of James the brother of Jesus. The original story comes from the second-century historian Hegesippus who wrote his notes on the history of the church between A.D. 165 and 175. When James was called on by a group of Scribes and Pharisees to set the what they believed was the truth of the claimed Messiahship of Jesus, Hegesippus reports James as stating that Jesus "is
about to come on the clouds of heaven."15 Hegesippus is quoting what "James the Just" said to a group of Scribes and Pharisees who believed that people were "led astray after Jesus was crucified": "Why do you ask me respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of great Power,
and is about to come on the clouds of heaven."16
The Greek word
mellow, "about to," "communicates a sense of immediacy."17 "If the author had not wished to stress the immediate aspect of Christ's coming, he could still have stressed the certainty of Christ's coming with
erketai, thereby omitting the immediate factor."18 After hearing James' obvious allusion to
Matthew 26:64, the officials of the temple cast him down from the "wing of the temple" and later stoned him and beat out his brains with a club. "Immediately after this," Hegesippus writes, "Vespasian invaded and took Judea."19 James the brother of Jesus believed that Jesus' coming was "about to take place." Hegessipus identifies the coming of Jesus "on the clouds of heaven" with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
A "Shred of Evidence" from 1 Clement
Clement (A.D. 30–100), also known as
Clemens Romanus to distinguish him from Clement of Alexandria who died in the third century, is noted for his letter to the Corinthians (1 Clement). The letter is commonly dated around A.D. 96, but there is good reason to date it earlier.
John A. T. Robinson is sympathetic to George Edmundson's evidence that 1 Clement "was written in the early months of 70."20 The strongest argument for an early A.D. 70 date is that Clement states that temple sacrifices were being offered in Jerusalem at the time of its writing. This means the temple, which was destroyed in late A.D. 70, was still standing when Clement wrote his letter:
Not in every place, brethren, are the continual daily sacrifices offered, or the freewill offerings, or the sin offerings or the trespass offerings,
but in Jerusalem alone. And even there the offering is not made in every place, but before the sanctuary in the court of the altar; and this too through the high-priest and the aforesaid ministers (41.2).
To give further support for an early A.D. 70 date is Clement's comments about what was taking place in "our generation," specifically the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. Keep in mind that Clement was born around A.D. 30 and would have been forty years old in A.D. 70, making him a part of the "this generation" of
Matthew 24:34:
But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the
most recent spiritual heroes. Let us take the noble examples furnished in
our own generation. Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars [of the Church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned.
After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience (5.1–17. Emphasis added.).
Remember Ice’s criterion for establishing preterism in the first century: All we need is "a shred of evidence." There are a couple of items in this section of Clement’s letter that point to a pre-A.D. 70 fulfillment. As opposed to "ancient examples" to make his case, Clement instead dwells on "the most recent spiritual heroes," in this case, Peter and Paul who "suffered martyrdom" during the Neronic persecutions in the 60s. These are "noble examples furnished in
our own generation," Clement writes. Jesus predicted in the presence of Peter: "They will deliver
you to tribulation, and will kill
you. . ." (
Matt. 24:9; cf.
John 21:18–19).
Of Paul, Clement writes, "After
preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith,
having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west." It was Paul's plan to go to Spain (
Rom. 14:24,
28). Compare this statement to what Jesus says in
Matthew 24:14, a verse that LaHaye and Ice maintain has not been fulfilled.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."
Clement, following the language of Jesus and Paul, states that the "whole world" (
kosmos) had been "taught righteousness." Paul writes to the Romans that their "faith is being proclaimed
throughout the whole world [
kosmos]" (
Rom. 1:8). At the end of Romans we read that the gospel "has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith" (16:26). To the Colossians we learn that, according to Paul, the gospel "was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister" (
Col. 1:23; cf.
1:6 [
kosmos]).
Conclusion
Ice and LaHaye get off on the wrong foot in their analysis of preterism. The historical argument is a death blow, or to use Mark Hitchcock's metaphor from his chapter on the dating of Revelation, "A Stake in the Heart" to their brand of futurism. The earliest historical sources, the Didache, the testimony of James, the brother of Jesus, and 1 Clement demonstrate that preterism's history is a first-century history.
As time and opportunity permit, I will deal with Ice's other claims on the history of preterism even though they are rather inconsequential to the debate. Ice leaves out so many outstanding preterists that one wonders if he's trying to hide something from his mostly dispensational audience.
