Creation to Consummation

by Brian Martin

Earlier this year I purchased the complete audio library available from Ed Stevens’ International Preterist Association. Over the summer I listened to dozens of hours of these lectures, seminars and radio programs while commuting to and from work. I was impressed with not only the depth of Ed’s understanding of the Bible and Preterism, but also the breadth of his knowledge, which included the Early Church Fathers, Talmudic writings and secular history recorded by Josephus and Tacitus. Aware of how little most of the Church knows about the events of AD 70, and the theology leading up to it, the idea of having Ed do a column centered on these themes began to germinate. I am excited that Ed responded to the idea with enthusiasm!

As students of the Bible, we realize that we use Scripture to interpret Scripture. However, Christianity has always benefited from non-Biblical sources to provide information regarding the backdrop upon which the Bible is written. Readers who are familiar with Ed’s teachings know that they are anchored squarely in the Bible. Readers unfamiliar with his teachings will soon find that to be the case.

By way of introduction, Ed was born and raised in Texas by devout Christian parents in a Southern Baptist Church. During his college years he switched over to the Church of Christ denomination, and also became involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. It was while in college at Texas Tech University (1971) that Ed learned of the Preterist view, through Foy Wallace’s commentary on Revelation and by reading Josephus. In 1975, Ed graduated from Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas, an intense two-year Church of Christ seminary. He also took their additional six-month Domestic Missions program (Sunset School of Missions). Two of the instructors there at Sunset School of Preaching (Richard Rogers and Jim McGuiggan) taught a Partial Preterist view of eschatology. After graduation he moved to Long Island, New York, where he served as minister for a Church of Christ congregation from 1975 to 1980. It was right after his move to Long Island in July, 1975 that Ed switched over to a fully consistent Preterist position.

While in the New York City area, Ed engaged in significant studies of Eschatology, Judaism, and Biblical Creationism. He also studied Hebrew, Talmud and Jewish History under Orthodox rabbis in the West Hempstead orthodox synagogue (Rabbi Silver) and at Adelphi University (Rabbi Milton Markovitz). He has lectured on Eschatology, Judaism and Creationism in various churches and seminaries. In 1978, Ed received a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. While ministering in Long Island, Ed met his wife, Beth, who had grown up in a devout Church of Christ home in Tennessee. God has blessed their marriage with two daughters (Rachel and Leah) and a son (James), all of whom are faithful Christians. 

After ministering in Long Island, Ed and Beth moved to Ashtabula, Ohio, where Ed served as both the Director and one of the instructors for the North East Ohio Bible Institute, a Church of Christ leadership training school, from 1980 to 1982. There he taught seminary level courses on Hermeneutics, Jewish History, Church History, Eschatology, Biblical Creationism, Church Planting, Church Growth, Personal Evangelism,  and many other subjects.

From Ohio Ed and Beth moved to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where Ed again was minister for a Church of Christ congregation, from 1982 to 1984. Then Ed had the opportunity to work for an Apple Computer store where he learned desktop publishing and accumulated the equipment, software and skills to begin a part-time Preterist publishing ministry with his wife in 1984, which developed into a full-time ministry by 1990.

After several years of study in systematic theology, Ed embraced the doctrines of sovereign grace and Reformed covenant theology. He states, “I am totally committed to the conservative fundamentals of our Christian faith and Reformed theology. I believe in the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, a literal six-day creation, a global flood, eternal conscious punishment for unbelievers, and all the other conservative ‘fundamentals’ of the Christian faith.” Ed also pastored the Reformed Christian Fellowship (a Reformed Preterist church) in Groveland, New York for two years (1995-1997).  Since then, he and his family have attended a conservative Presbyterian Church (PCA). 

Ed has been interviewed on radio programs and lectured on Preterism at seminars in many states across the nation. He has participated in two written debates (Balyeat and Gentry) and two oral debates (Olan Hicks, and Hartley/George). He is also the author of five books, What Happened In AD 70? (an introduction to the Preterist view), Who Do You Say I Am? (a defense of the deity of Christ against Unitarians), Stevens Response to Gentry (a written debate on Preterist eschatology), Questions About The Afterlife (a response to Gary DeMar’s five questions about the resurrection), Expectations Demand a First Century Rapture (advocating a literal rapture in AD 70), and numerous articles for publication in magazines, newsletters and websites.

Ed is the President of International Preterist Association, which grew out of his Preterist publishing ministry. IPA publishes and distributes Preterist books and hosts a website with numerous Preterist articles and an online store with over a hundred different Preterist books, tapes, CD’s and DVD’s available for purchase. IPA has published numerous books for other Preterist authors, including Ken Davies, Dan Harden, Tim James, Ron McRay, Arthur Melanson, Jessie Mills, John Noe, Randall Otto, and Al Pigeon; as well as twice reprinting J. Stuart Russell's 600-page classic work on Preterist eschatology, The Parousia.

For the past eight years IPA has set up an exhibit booth at the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society, where 2000 of the top conservative theologians in the world gather to collaborate and present the fruits of their research. This is a major part of their work, where they introduce the Preterist view to, and debate it with, the movers and shakers of the conservative evangelical world.

Currently, Ed is involved in a written debate with Sam Frost on the AD 70 literal rapture issue. (As a side note, having read some of the comments posted on various web sites concerning the rapture issue, I want to commend both Ed and Sam for the spirit in which they are conducting this debate. They are not pulling any punches on the issue, but they are respecting each other as brothers in Christ and fellow Preterists while doing so.) Ed is also in the process of editing a multi-authored response book to Keith Mathison’s When Shall These Things Be? A Reformed Response to Hyper-Preterism, as well as expanding three of his present books for new editions. 

I would encourage readers who are not already familiar with the ministries of International Preterist Association to visit their website and take advantage of all the excellent resources that are available there. Their web address and other contact info are listed in this column.

As you can see, Ed brings a wealth of training and experience to both this column and Preterism in general. We look forward to what he has to share in the coming issues.