Joel Richardson
Recognizing that the Christian Church has historically been the greatest resistor to the gospel of Marxism, the subversive forces of the left are working hard to devour their greatest enemy from the inside out. It is essential that the methods through which Marxist ideas are taking root in the Churches are exposed.
I am truly grateful to those commentators who have highlighted the Marxist foundations of the social justice movement. There is a vast difference between social justice and genuine Biblical justice. Christians that swallow the poison pill of the “social justice” movement are quickly transformed into little socialists for Jesus.
But beyond social justice there is another foundational theological element to this equation that must be exposed. But first, it is important to briefly review the primary hope, expectation and message of the Bible. From start to finish, the unified, cohesive message that every Biblical prophet and apostle proclaimed is the coming of the messianic kingdom of God on the earth. Whether Jewish or Christian, the pole star of hope for every believer has always been the Messianic Kingdom. This vision of heaven and earth fully redeemed together as one, has always been the ultimate hope of the people of God. This message is most often called Դhe GospelԮ Proclaiming this message, in word and deed, has always been the primary calling and mission of the Church.
Why then are so many Christians now abandoning this mission? The answer lies in the ongoing infiltration of the Church with Marxist wolves-in-sheepӳ clothing. And one of the Marxist’s greatest theological tools is found in a heretical system of interpretation known as preterism.
Preterism seeks to neuter the primary message of the Church by arguing that all or most Biblical prophecy has already been fulfilled in history. Thus all of the primary eschatological expectations of the gospel message are no longer to be watched for, hoped for, longed for, or proclaimed.
When examining the various Messianic expectations that have been trumpeted by the prophets and apostles from ancient times, Preterism emasculates the Christian faith of nearly every essential future expectation. In its most extreme forms, (consistent) Preterism holds that Jesus Christ has already returned, (spiritually), that the Antichrist has already come, that the resurrection of the dead has already taken place (again, spiritually), and that what we are seeing and experiencing now; that’s all there is folks. This is the fullness of resurrection.
So why is this system of interpretation being pushed so heavily by men like Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis and other prominent pseudo-Christian leftists? The answer is simple: These men are Marxists in their political orientation and they have a very clear agenda.
History shows that Marxist regimes have always made efforts to crush Christian movements. This was primarily due to the fact that the Biblical-messianic-utopian hopes of the Christian faith were in conflict with the Marxist-humanist-utopian vision. Marxism is not so much threatened by what Christians believe about Jesus dying on the cross for their sins, but rather what they believe with regard to the future eschatological messianic expectations.
This time around however, the Marxists are trying an entirely new tactic. They are infiltrating the Churches. And by altering a few key eschatological doctrines, they believe that they can reconcile Christianity with Marxism. Why the need to eradicate Christians when they can just as easily be converted and utilized as useful idiots for the Marxist cause? It’s far less bloody after all.
But in order for the Marxist conversion to take place, Christians must first abandon their traditional messianic hopes through the corrosive doctrine of Preterism. Consider the implications:
First, the belief that a charismatic and populist leader (the Antichrist) will emerge in the last-days pretending to vindicate the poor is eliminated. Marxists need the people to trust them and their populist, collectivist, nanny-state ideas.
Second, the Bible teaches that the Messiah is literally coming back in the future to slay the Antichrist and his followers. Obviously such expectations also must be eliminated. Dictators with messiah complexes cannot tolerate competition.
Third, the enemies of Israel will be decisively judged while Israel will be vindicated. This drives Marxists bonkers. Israel, as the outpost of Democracy in the Middle East can only be demagogued, marginalized, demonized. Marxists simply cannot have Israel, or any democracy for that matter, viewed in a positive light.
Fourth, the Messiah will rule the earth from Jerusalem. Again, Marxists hate competition. And of course, they certainly would not wish to offend their Muslim caliphate-collectivist brethren.
Fifth, the corrupt and exploitative leaders of the earth will be crushed. The conclusion of Psalm 110 actually says that when the Messiah comes, he will literally slay the corrupt leaders of the earth. Enough said.
Sixth, the Messiah will cleanse and rebuild the earth. The only hope that the Marxists have of passing their various environmental control policies is by instilling in the people a sense of fear and hopelessness. They cannot allow any external hope, particularly of a future divine intervention to heal the earth.
And finally, the day will come when all of the righteous dead will be resurrected and come to life. The unrighteous dead, on the other hand, will be resurrected to eternal judgment. This of course is a two-edged sword for the Marxist. The Marxist is both jealous of this future hope instilled in the people and also terrified that all of their hypocrisy and corruption has been caught on divine videotape to someday be played back in front of everyone. Not surprisingly, many of these subversives are also staunch enemies of the Biblical concept of judgment and hell.
In the end, Preterism is a decidedly acidic theological position that guts the Christian gospel of any genuine eschatological messianic hope. And while not all Preterists are necessarily Marxists, all of these Christo-Marxists are Preterists. Alert and discerning believers need to be aware of the tactics of these men. If a preacher stood in most pulpits and openly preached naked Communism, most of the people would rightly rise up and run the bugger out. So also must the people rise up and run the subversive influences of Preterism out of the Church.
One Response
This is the first time I have read this particular article. Bang on! I used to think that the pre-trib vs post trib was the real battle. (Still is important) Preterism is a cancer that is infecting the church. We need to wake up before it is too late! There will be a tribulation and we are going to go through it!
PS Our pastor did a study on Revelation and at the end he came out as an amillenialist. How do I speak the truth to him in love?