Thursday, October 3, 2013

Truth Always Prevails: The Sound of Vindication

We've heard the slogan, "Truth Always Prevails", but often when we are enduring some lie that is being perpetrated, either generally or against us personally it seems like truth has lost and liars have won the day.  It makes it worse when people or organizations which we may respect have also bought into the lie.
On a personal note, as readers may know I have been enduring the lies of a group called "hyperpreterists".  Hyperpreterists are a cultic, heretical group that advocates four main things in contradiction to the united belief of Christianity.
HYPERPRETERISTS BELIEFS:
  1. Jesus came back once and for all in the 1st century (AD70).
  2. The resurrection of the believers happened "spiritually" in the 1st century.
  3. The judgment of the wicked and righteous happened in the 1st century.
  4. There is no end of sin, no culmination of God's plan for the earth.
From 2007 to the present, I have been engaged in refuting this heresy. In the course of this "fight", I think of the history of battle.  The old European way was to line up your forces head-to-head and just fire away until one side breaks ranks.  Whereas the tactical way, the way used by Napoleon and by the American Revolution was to out flank the opponent, striking from all angles.  At the time, the European generals considered this way of waging war to be "unfair".  They even said about Napoleon:
"This beardless youth ought to have been beaten over and over again, for whoever saw such tactics. The blockhead knows nothing of the rules of war.  Today he is in our rear, tomorrow on our flanks, and the next day again in our front.  Such gross violations of the established principles of war are insufferable". (source)
This is important, because during the fight against hyperpreterism, I HAVEN'T been using the "European/Seminarian" tactics of lining up on the battlefield and just shooting until the last man falls.  Instead, I have been exposing (Eph 5:11) every weakness of this heresy.  I've talked about its overarching premise; which is that God was either unable or unwilling to maintain the most basic understanding of eschatology for 2000 years.  I've talked about the obvious motivations by its leaders, which is to be the next "Luther", when in reality they are the next Arius (ref).  I've exposed the character of the hyperpreterist leaders (Romans 16:17-18).  I've called on knowing and unknowing supporters of hyperpreterism to distance themselves from that heresy. (2 Corinthians 6:15)  I've engaged the hyperpreterists on their "exegesis", even doing chapter-by-chapter reviews of their books, which they often ignore (not just 20 minute podcasts). (ref)  I've source linked and source linked the things hyperpreterists have said, so that anyone can check the veracity of my claims against them.
Yet, what have the hyperpreterists done?  And even some of their supporters?  They make up lies and name-call and REALLY slander me.  One time, one of them tried to even claim I was an ex-convict from NY (ref).  If I was, I'd admit it as part of the testimony of God's ability to radically change lives.  But it is a recent issue which I want to bring out.
After years of having hyperpreterists claim I "stalk" them and claiming I "call their places of employment" -- which I've never engaged hyperpreterists' lives except those things theologically related -- now finally a hyperpreterist leader ADMITS instead it was he who was lying or at the very least gossiping and slandering me.
"I apologize to Roderick Edwards for saying that he called a persons employer. I apologize publicly for this and say I misunderstood what someone told me and in my desire to protect the flock I spoke too fast……An employer was called and there is a VERY good chance that someone instigated this and that Phil Naessens [a hyperpreterist supporter] is still getting to the bottom of this but its 100% certain Roderick Edwards didn’t make that call." (source)
That's it?  After years of REALLY slandering me, this guy thinks it is enough to just pop out this little "quick apology"?  After hyperpreterist supporters like Phil Naessens does 2 podcasts calling me a liar and claiming I'm not even human? (ref#1, ref#2)  After this hyperpreterist's mentor and seminary president Dr. Kenneth Talbot ALSO calls me a liar (ref), they think this is enough?
Folks, this is why I left the "cause" (which by the way simply means I'm not going to organize with traitors) (ref).  Phil Naessens and Dr. Talbot are men who are SUPPOSED to be Christians but they have been pandering to the hyperpreterists and joining in the chorus of people trying to make me out to be the bad guy.  Well, I'm not playing that game anymore.  Let them line up and shoot each other down.
Truth Always Prevails if you just hold out long enough, even if the truth comes from a hyperpreterist guy who in an attempt to make himself to look "gracious" he actually reveals he has been the REAL liar all along.  Will any of the hyperpreterists and their supporters see this and actually acknowledge this issue?

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