One of the things I have tried to keep in mind in my every post is to emphasize the real-life ramifications of the reality of Christ's Tribulation-vanquishing Return: the extremely good news here to Christian & non-Christian alike is that the Blessed Hope is here among us now & forevermore! The occasional dark cloud is NOT to be feared, it is NOT the end of the world: it's just the end of an occasional bad day. Bright, sunny days will follow again and again - and we should make plans for them; plans that draw upon the full, realized & present power of Christ's Good News -the exceedingly great & precious promises, even the ones some Charismatics take to erroneous extremes- and lift up the arms of disheartened & distracted Humanity, energizing them to go to work for a reward that is certainly theirs, there remaining no Bible-mandated cataclysm to stand in the way.

World economies are wondering if nuclear fusion will come soon enough to replace the petroleum presently fueling the industrial engines of modern prosperity -prosperity which has even filled the minds of 3rd World paupers with visions of their own version of the American Dream. But the real source which propels Mankind's progress has always been and always will be the Hope of God, guided by the Wisdom of God, and moved forward by the Power of God - each made available by a good understanding of The Word of God, Jesus Christ Himself. The preterist view delivers some upgrades to that understanding necessary to getting our thrusters opened up wider for the heavy lifting soon to be required. We can do it. Christians are called by God -as kings & priests- to do it. Many are sitting on the sidelines or in the game half-heartedly because of they just cannot see clearly enough -they need the corrective lenses that the preterist view delivers.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father

100 years ago, at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, Christians in many parts were praying to God, thinking surely the end of Mankind was near. "Men have discovered dynamite, developed machine guns, and promptly employed them in war against his own relatives [Civil War, etc]. With 1 billion people and exhausting soils in population centers like Europe, how can we go on? God help us!"

What happened? Some would trumpet -certain excesses notwithstanding- the Pentecostal movement beginning with the Azusa Street Revival which continues to be the most dramatic evangelizing movement on the face of the globe. Others could boast that the Wright Brothers inaugurate powered flight; Henry Ford delivers the automobile to the common man; Thomas Edison's labors to spread the marvels of electricity light up cities throughout the World; radio extends the ears of common men to hear the conversations within great cities; airplane-guiding radar; penicillin, wonder drugs; and polio-vanquishing vaccines; then television enabling the common man to gain the insights of world travel from his family room; jet propulsion; modern fertilizers converting worthless soils into fields 13 times more productive than virgin lands; camaraderie among governments via diplomatic efforts such as the United Nations; computers & Internet bringing organizational power to every human communication & plan, multiplying their efficacies; men on the Moon; the fall, exposure and demonization of militaristic approaches to human government exemplified by Nazis and Soviets; Martin Luther King guides the Civil Rights Movement, taking getting along among ethnic groups to a more sustainable level, this is now a worldwide movement etc. etc. These advances are a form of wealth. NONE OF THESE ADVANCES HUMANITY CURRENTLY DEPENDS UPON TO MAINTAIN A POPULATION APPROACHING 7 BILLION PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF CERTAIN MOVERS & SHAKERS DIDN'T MAKE THEM HAPPEN - AND THEY MADE THEM HAPPEN BY THE HOPE WITHIN THEM THAT MANKIND WOULD BENEFIT FOR GENERATIONS. And we are presently living the dreams of our grandparents.

Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

The preterist view is the only capable vaccine against the hope-crippling virus spreading the mental disease commonly known as Endtimer's Dementia, Tribulation paralysis, Left Behind paranoia, etc.: disorders rampant among many Christians who would otherwise be out there working earnestly to give God's Hope, Wisdom, & Power to their sin-sickened surroundings. The preterist view -Christ Jesus' Good News view- is what delivers the hope that motivates movers & shakers to make the personal sacrifices necessary toward providing for Humanity's needs. "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat." God has a thing about us working for the things we need - even though He's ever present to help us. 2 Tim 2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. [why? so that he does not faint from discouragement while laboring] The preterist view is the only Bible-compatible message capable of delivering to Bible-lovers the faith-sustaining encouragement to keep laboring to benefit Mankind in a temporal way: this only comes by way of certain knowledge that their labors will bring the harvest that benefits generations to come. These temporal benefits are lasting legacies that trumpet the practical byproducts of the Gospel that the sin-blinded can recognize as beneficial - making Christ's message attractive to them.

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

But without such tangible benefits recognizable as such by common men, it is difficult to make the case to them that the God of Christ has any understanding of Man's needs, or any feeling for his common sufferings. This difficulty is heightened all the more when Gospel-sharing Christians are found to resist necessary progress needful to Mankind's survival, having themselves succombed to the progress-stifling mental diseases of Endtimer's Dementia, Tribulation Paralysis, Left Behind Paranoia - each of which entirely preventable by the vitamins the preterist view makes available. The preterist view motivates those who are seated in heavenly places with Christ to excercise our talents to benefit those on Earth.

As the adage goes, "Don't be so heavenly minded that you become of no earthly good."

I'd like to review some more thoughts -thoughts that I think should grab many a young thinker I college now. Some to those who think the most altruistically, most idealistically, while putting practical efforts towards blessing their world for generations to come are those studying to be scientists - MIT, CalTech, Harvey-Mudd type people. And yet, these are the very people most turned off by conservative Christianity because of its dispensationalistic disdain for all things in preparation for the future. Preterism should be able to speak to them the Lord's Good News from an understanding that they cannot so readily reject outrightly - as they would anything else that is anti-progress.

But this view that virtually every Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled in the past has the effect of filling us with much needed optimism and confidence towards the future. We realize that there remains no Bible-mandated cataclysm dooming our best efforts to futility. It was this kind of optimism and confidence and energy that overcame every giant obstacle and carried men to the moon. With this kind of optimism and confidence we can invigorate our efforts to overcome every giant obstacle to make the world a better place, and bless our children and their children, our home countries, our hometowns. There is no glass ceiling hanging our Mankind's head preventing him from progressing forward into better times ahead. There is no end, no limits, no boundaries to human potential except those caused by our own ignorance & disobedience. Tommorrow is a blank page waiting to be written between God & us. God has invited us to co-author with Jesus -The Word- the great story of Humanity. Tommorrow is strictly determined by what we do with Jesus Christ today - not by fatalistic judgments upon previous generations - generations long since buried. We Christians get to be the Caleb's, the great, optimistic, hope-giving, visionary leaders among every generation, declaring before the daunting, giant obstacles of our times, "Let us go up at once and take the Land, for we are well able to overcome them!" (Numbers 13:30).

This is the great, overarching conclusion from the preterist view -good news that puts you in a good mood- makes you want to get to work for our futures with God, spiritual & physical, & for the benefit of all Mankind.

Bonus thought here: I lean toward thinking there is at least one promise/prophesy that is still working itself out over time, even our times: I anticipate the biological lifespans will be lengthening back up to rival the years of Adam (935) Methuselah (965) and all the rest.

Every now and again, science magazines report that the mysteries of the aging process are becoming understood, that it is conceivable that lifespans could be lengthened through this knowledge they diligently study Creation to obtain. From the perspective of the history of the common man's experience, lifespans have been steadily increasing around the world over the last centuries - thanks to better hygiene, healthcare, diplomacy, and technological advances that make biological life on earth more livable for the everyday nobody, the faceless masses so easily forgotten - but not by God. The promise of God, the intentions of studious men, and the trend of history all point toward the idea of your children living longer than you do, their children living longer than them, and so on -little by little. This is one reason why we have 7 billion people now as opposed to 1 billion just a century ago: they don't die off so fast. 7 billion people -from a global perspective- living better, heathier, richer, more educated lives with more leisure time and vacationing farther than ever before.