Often Preterists and others will try to prove their validity by how long they have been hanging around or how much a Johnny-Come-Lately another group is and thus can't be taken seriously.
Ok, ok, granted Preterists have been around since the time of Paul but that gives no guarantee of one's accuracy...
But shun profane babblings, for they will advance to greater impiety, and their word will have a feeding field like gangrene, of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who missed the mark about the truth, saying the resurrection happened already, and they overthrow the faith of some. (2Ti 2:16-18)
It all goes to show that age of a doctrine is not an automatic reason to believe it, but rather does it line up with Scripture.
In Each generation (70)yrs you have an entire new group of believers who are building on the last generation because this is their closest advisors and mentors. From 33ad until 315ad the Christian Faith was considered illegal and persecuted by the state (Roman Empire) millions were martyred over these initial years, but the Church was faithful to the teachings of the apostles and the early church fathers and grew in followers.
In 315ad Constantine made the Christian Faith legal and the state recognized it as a true religion. From that time the church became influenced by the state and lost its innocents in Christ. It was given power by the world and clinged to that power over the power which is in Christ. In around 380ad the Christian Faith became the only religion recognized by the state, making all other religions illegal. And this is when the church became the persecuter and the other religions were exterminated. This is when Christianity justified war and sought to destroy all other religions. The doctrine error can not be understood without this knowledge of how Christians now in power did not love but hated and persecuted all who refused to submit to Jesus Christ.
From 380ad until the 7th century the Christian Faith reigned supreme and many were put to death for refusal to submit to Christianity. It is as if the Church divorced Jesus and married the state.
Then Islam was born (anti-Christ) and gained support because of the harsh treatment by Christians. And Islam over ran and took control of much of the Middle East including the Holy Land. The church of the east was forced to submit to Islam to avoid extermination, while the western powers (Pope) did little to stop this Islamic overthrow of eastern Christendom. By 1054ad this strain between east and west reached an apex and the east separated form the Bishop of Rome ( known as the great Schism).
The Pope and western civization tried to reunite with the east orthodox but not by love but by war against Islam (crusades). These attempts proved futile, because God wants us to convert by love and sacrifice. So the eastern Christians were persecuted by Islam while the western church grew in power with the state. Islam dominated the east from the 7th century into the 19th century building a divide between west and east Christians which is to this day divided.
Because western Christianity was married to the state, they became corrupted and desired only worldly power. They terrified the masses and would execute anyone who questioned their authority. Within this horrific time in church history the printing press was invented and by the 15th century the educated Christians in the west had easy access to the scriptures and soon recognized how the RCC had corrupted the faith, and so brave reformers spoke out and got support from the nations that they dwelled in.
The reformation was a mix of returning to the apostalic teachings and nations separating from Rome with war, so the reformers in the end exchanged state power controlled by the pope to national power controlled by the kings of western nations, so while they did return to the scriptural teaching they still submitted themselves to the nations who supported them, still justifying war and execution of those who refused to submit to their power. So we had the reformation and counter-reformation neither of which resolved Christians desire for hatred and war , which we know is not of Christ.
Even a simpleton could see that Christendom was not abiding in truth which led to the spiritual awaking of the 19th century that produced many cults attempting to return to 'real Christianity', but in separating from the traditional churches they soon fell into all manner of heresy.
So now we find ourselves in a very confusing and unfounded expression of the faith (great apostacy). From this reality we know that the Son of Perdition is soon to be revealed, and the end of the age is at hand.
i apologize for the long thread, just felt it needs to be realize in this age where people are rewriting history.
Christ be with you always.
