Author : Tommy Thornhill
reprinted by permission from “Etna Enlightener”
In article 2 of this series, I pointed out that one of the terms used by the A.D.70 doctrine is “realized or fulfilled eschatology (Bible doctrine of last things or end time).” By this they mean that everything the Bible has to say about the last things or end time has already happened or been completed in A.D. 70. They contend there is nothing in the Bible that pertains to the future days, for Christ has already come, the dead have been raised, the judgment day has taken place and the world ended. A.D. 70 marked the end of God’s divine plan and purpose as expressed in the Bible. As far as they are concerned the end of the material world is untaught. King writes “the destiny of the material universe shall be left to the hidden counsel of the Creator” (SOP p.81). He then paraphrases Deuteronomy 29:29 to justify his teaching.
In article 3 I dealt with their false teaching about the 2nd coming of Christ. Their contention is that Jesus came, not literally, but spiritually, as represented by the invading Roman army in A.D. 70. In examining the scriptures we learn that Jesus 2nd coming is to be literal, visible and audible and this has not yet happened. The Bible does not reveal when Jesus will return, but it has not yet happened, it is still in the future. But we do know that when He comes, the dead will be raised.
The false doctrine we are studying contends that it has already happened. They teach that the resurrection is not to be taken in a literal sense, but must be understood in a spiritual sense. They also believe that this spiritual resurrection was a process that began with Christ’s resurrection but not completed until A.D. 70. And it certainly did not involve the physical body.
So, how do the proponents of this absurd doctrine defend their claim that the bodily resurrection as taught in the scriptures happened in the period between A.D. 30 – 70? First, keep in mind that King, in promoting his A.D.70 doctrine, has redefined Biblical words and phrases to make them fit his wild and fanciful ideas. This is what he does with the Bible teaching about the bodily resurrection of the dead. He teaches that the body that was to be resurrected was a spiritual body, not a human body. He defines the body to be resurrected as the church (as in the body of Christ).
So, the Max King view of the resurrection is that while the church came into existence on the day of Pentecost, ca. A.D.30, it was not perfected at that time. It was being suffocated by persecuting Judaism. As was pointed out in the last issue, they contend the “handwriting of ordinances” nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14), was simply the bond or agreement of the Jews to keep the Law, but the Old Testament Law itself, continued to be in force, “co-existing” alongside the New Testament Law of Christ, until A.D.70. The church/kingdom was not yet fully operative and was being smothered by the dominating Jewish system.
However, by A.D. 70, when the Jewish system was destroyed by the Romans, the “body” (the church – the body of Christ) was in a spiritual sense resurrected as the old decaying Jewish system was dying and this transition was completed by A.D. 70. King explains; “Thus, out of the decay of Judaism arose the spiritual body of Christianity that became fully developed or resurrected by the end-time.” (A.D. 70 – t.t.) (SOP p.200). According to them this was the bodily resurrection spoken of in the Bible. It was not a resurrection of the physical human body, rather the bodily resurrection of the church (the body of Christ) rising out of the ashes of the now dead Judaism. So, when Christianity was resurrected the eternal kingdom of God was then fully established and the saints were perfected and received their adoption, redemption and inheritance. This brought to a close everything that God had purposed about the end time. All of God’s prophecies and promises revealed in the Bible were then completed. The world ended and the new heavens and earth were inherited. As for the future after A.D.70, it remains an unrevealed mystery so we should not concern ourselves about it.
When I first read of King’s explanation, that the bodily resurrection spoken of in the Bible is not the physical resurrection of the human body, but the body of Christ (the church/kingdom my mind went to John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” This sure doesn’t sound like a resurrection of Christianity as a system. It sounds like a multiplicity of individuals whose physical bodies were raised from graves. In fact, I understand that the phrase “all who” in the Greek is translated literally as “all those” and is a plural masculine term referring to a multiplicity of individuals, not a system. Thus Jesus was referring to individuals who are to be raised, not Christianity.
In case you don’t get it, King and his followers are teaching that what came forth from the graves was the church. The logical consequence is that the church had been dead, that Christianity as it existed between A.D. 30-70 was dead – a dead religion raised in A.D. 70. Who can believe that? But that is what they believe. They say the church/kingdom established on Pentecost did not come into its full glory, power and completeness until after A.D.70 because the kingdom was being hindered and suffocated by persecuting Judaism. Thus, it could not be alive until Judaism died. Since they contend that the body (church/kingdom) was the spiritual body resurrected, this means the church was dead or in a state of dying from 30-70 A.D. while Judaism was still alive. The church could not be alive until Judaism died. They don’t say it like that, but how can there be a resurrection of the dead if there are no dead?
Just as with the previous tenets examined, the A.D. 70 doctrine on the bodily resurrection is not some harmless conviction held by a few people. It is a total perversion of God’s word, ignoring the context while forcing scripture to say what they think it ought to say. It is false teaching and must be exposed and refuted. As Paul wrote; “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some” 2 Timothy 2:16-18. So, what does the Bible really say about the resurrection of the dead? Has it already occurred? (We will answer that next issue)
Work Cited
Max King, Spirit of Prophecy.
