9.5 Theses
for the Next Reformation

We the undersigned, out of love for the truth and a desire to see all Christians honor and acknowledge all that God has revealed in his Word, submit these 9.5 Theses for your prayerful evaluation and participation with us in calling for further reform. May these theses be the spark that ignites the next Reformation of Christianity.

1. Everything Jesus said would happen, happened exactly as and when He said it would—within the lifetime of his contemporaries.

2. Everything every New Testament writer expected to happen, happened exactly as and when they expected it would—within their lifetime—as they were guided into all truth and told the things that were to come by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13).

3. Scholars across a broad spectrum are in general agreement that this is exactly how every NT writer and the early Church understood Jesus’ words. If they were wrong on something this important, how can we trust them to have conveyed other aspects of the faith accurately, such as the requirements for salvation?

4. No inspired NT writer, writing twenty or more years later, ever corrected their Holy-Spirit-guided understanding and fulfillment expectations (Jn. 16:13). Neither should we. Instead, they intensified their language as the “appointed time of the end” (Dan. 12:4; Hab. 2:3) drew near—from Jesus’ “this generation” (Mat. 24:34), to Peter’s “the end of all things is at hand” and “for it is time for judgment to begin” (1 Pet. 4:7, 17), and John’s “this is the last hour . . . . it is the last hour” (1 Jn. 2:18).

5. Partial fulfillment is not satisfactory. 3 out of 5, 7 out of 10, etc., won’t work. Partial does not pass the test of a true prophet (Deut. 18:18-22). Again, Jesus time-restricted all of his end-time predictions to occur within the 1st-century time frame.

6. God is faithful (2 Pet. 3:9) and “not a man that he should lie” (Num. 23:19). Faithfulness means not only doing what was promised, but also doing it when it was promised.

7. 1st-century, fulfillment expectations were the correct ones and everything happened, right on time—no gaps, no gimmicks, no interruptions, no postponements, no delays, no exegetical gymnastics, and no changing the meaning of commonly used and normally understood words. Such manipulative devices have only given liberals and skeptics a foothold to discredit Christ’s Deity and the inerrancy of Scripture.

8. What needs adjusting is our understanding of both the time and nature of fulfillment, and not manipulation of the time factor to conform to our popular, futuristic, and delay expectations.

9. The kingdom of God was the central teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a present but greatly under-realized reality, and must again become the central teaching of his Church.

9.5. We have been guilty of proclaiming a half-truth—a partially delivered faith to the world and to fellow Christians. We must repent and earnestly “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). If Christianity has been as effective as it has by proclaiming that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came, died for our sins, bodily arose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven “at just the right time” (Rom. 5:6; Dan. 9:24-27), how much more effective might it be if we started preaching, teaching, and practicing the whole truth—i.e., a faith in which everything else also happened “at just the right time,” exactly as and when Jesus said it would and every NT writer expected (Jn. 16:13). Dare we continue to settle for less?

Surely today, the words of Martin Luther, as he stood in defense before the Diet of Worms in 1521, are still applicable and compelling for the "always reforming" Church:

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures . . . and my conscience is captive to the Word of God . . . . I cannot do otherwise. "

* Based on Martin Luther’s famous “95 Theses” that were posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Luther’s document empowered and propelled the Protestant Reformation.

* Names and ministry positions as of – April 30, 2003

Published by the Prophecy Reformation Institute: a conservative, evangelical ministry dedicated to continuing the Reformation into the field of eschatology-end-time Bible prophecy, and the International Preterist Association. 

Books for the Next Reformation

·        Chilton, David. The Days of Vengeance. Ft. Worth, TX.: Dominion Press, 1987.

·        DeMar, Gary, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church. Atlanta, GA.: American Vision, 3rd ed., 1997.

·        *________. End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the Left Behind Theology. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001.

·        Gentry, Jr., Kenneth L. Before Jerusalem Fell. Atlanta, GA.: American Vision, revised ed., 1998.

·        *Noe, John. Beyond the End Times: The Rest of . . . The Greatest Story Ever Told. Bradford, PA.: IPA, 1999.

·        *________. Dead In Their Tracks: Stopping the Liberal/Skeptic Attack on the Bible. Bradford, PA.: IPA, 2001.

·        ________. Shattering the ‘Left Behind’ Delusion. Bradford, PA.: IPA, 2000.

·        ________. The Israel Illusion: 13 Popular Misconceptions about This Modern-day Nation and Its Role in Bible Prophecy. Fishers, IN.: PRI, 2000. 

·        ________. Top Ten Misconceptions about Jesus’ Second Coming and the End Times. Fishers, IN.: PRI, 1998.

·        Otto, Randell E. Case Dismissed: Rebutting Common Charges Against Preterism. Bradford, PA.: IPA, 2000.

·        Russell, J. Stuart. The Parousia. Bradford, Pennsylvania:  IPA, 2002.  Reprint of the second edition originally published by T. Fisher Unwin, in London, England in 1887.

·        *Sproul, R.C. The Last Days According to Jesus. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.

·        Stevens, Edward E. Questions About The Afterlife. Bradford, PA.: IPA, 1999.

·        ________. What Happened In A.D. 70? Bradford, PA.: IPA, 6th ed., 2001.

·        Terry, Milton S. Biblical Hermeneutics. Eugene, OR.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1890, 1999.

 *  (top priority—read first)    

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Be sure to visit our websites: www.prophecyrefi.org. Website: www.preterist.org.

Copyright (c) 2001, revised 2003 by John Noé

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