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Response to Dr. Larry Spargimino
From: Ken Davies
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 1:24 PM
Subject: Article by Dr. Larry Spargimino
Dear Friends in the Lord,
Thought you might find this of interest.
This email to Dr. Noah Hutchings is one I wrote in response
to an article that was forwarded to me, alleging to be an
“answer” to the Preterist view. It may be found
on the website of the Southwest
Radio Church, of which Dr. Hutchings is the head.
Dear Dr. Hutchings,
I read the article, “Was
All Bible Prophecy Fulfilled By A.D. 70?” by Dr.
Larry Spargimino. I must say, it was a very disappointing
“answer” to the Preterist view. Dr. Spargimino
gives only one positive reason why he finds it lacking, and
one easily refuted from Scripture. He says the Old Covenant
passed away at the cross, and tries to use the book of Hebrews
to “prove” it! Amazing! I wonder what he does
with Heb. 8:13?
By calling this covenant “new,”
he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and
aging will soon disappear.
Dr. Spargimino says, “The temple and
priesthood could have continued for another thousand years
and it would not have delayed the new era one second,”
but what does the Word of God say?
The Holy Spirit was showing by this that
the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed
as long as the first tabernacle was still standing [Heb. 9:8].
If Jesus has not yet returned, as He promised,
within the time frame He set for this event, we do not even
have salvation! Note:
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away
the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him [Heb. 9:28].
Dr. Spargimino says, “Christians need
to be aware of those teachings that would turn ‘the
blessed hope’ into ‘the blasted hope.’”
The Bible, on the other hand, says,
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but
a longing fulfilled is a tree of life [Prov. 13:12].
The “blessed hope” of the New
Testament is that Christ would return within the lifetime
of at least SOME of those to whom Jesus spoke (Matt. 16:27-28;
24:34, etc.). Dr. Spargimino should deal with the verses cited
in the article, “An Air of Expectancy,” by Terry Siverd. If that hope
was delayed or never occurred (as critics of Christianity,
such as the atheist Bertrand Russell allege), then Jesus and
His apostles either lied or were mistaken, and Christians
truly do have a “blasted hope”!
To say, as some do, “If Jesus has
already returned, we have no hope!” is akin to the child
who says, “I was hoping for a bicycle for Christmas,
and now that I got one, I have no more hope!” I’m
sure you can see how utterly ridiculous this statement is.
I love Dr. Spargimino’s statement,
“The following is a list of those Scriptures, with my
comments indicating what they really say:” Then he proceeds
to simply state what they DON’T say (in his opinion).
This kind of “refutation” is typical. It depends
more on logical fallacies (e.g., begging the question) and
mockery than on exegesis. He assumes the futurist view is
true, then makes fun of the Preterist view on that basis (e.g.,
“No microchip technology here!”). Of course, that
never answers or proves anything!
Dr. Spargimino also says, “Preterism
is tied in with a postmillennial view of last things.”
However, postmillennialism is a FUTURIST view, as is premillennialism.
Kenneth Gentry is NOT a Preterist! The definition of a Preterist,
according to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, is “a
theologian who believes that the prophecies of the Apocalypse
have already been fulfilled.” Both you and Dr. Gentry
are, by definition, futurists! I would encourage Dr. Spargimino
(and every futurist) to look into these things more carefully,
using the rules of Biblical hermeneutics to come to his conclusions,
rather than simply dismissing them out of hand on the basis
of his futurist system of interpretation.
Preterists did not come to the view lightly
or easily. It is a view that seeks to take seriously the clear
time statements of Scripture and to handle them honestly and
accurately.
In Christ,
Ken Davies
http://www.BeyondTheEndTimes.com
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