What is the Real Meaning of
Easter?

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Preterism

To say that Jesus is the Messiah today is to say that Jesus became the Messiah in the past, rather than saying He must come again (in the future) before He can begin His Messianic Reign. The belief that a prophecy was fulfilled in the past is called "preterism."

If your pastor has heard of "preterism," and especially if he uses the term "hyper-preterism," he likely believes that it is a dangerous heresy, and that anyone who is a “preterist” has denied the Christian faith, and is not to be counted as a true Christian. Gary North says Pastors should not even debate a preterist. Just kick him out of your church.

This is not a Biblical approach. This is not a "Berean" approach (Acts 17:11). This is an obstacle to iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). This approach reduces competence and responsibility, rather than enlarging it.

"Preterism" is the "default" perspective in the Bible. Here are 101 "Any Moment" Verses that were fulfilled in the past. It is difficult to find a single verse that was intended by its author to speak to the original audience of events that would happen more than 20 centuries in the future. In fact, I'll bet you can't find a single one. Your first assumption is that the verse you're looking at was intended by its author to be interpreted by us in a "preterist" manner. But if there is evidence enough to overturn the assumption gained by reading those 101 "Any Moment" Verses, then you might have a non-preterist verse. But I haven't found such a verse.

Let's look again at an article from a Jewish website called "Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus." It says,

        Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because . . . Jesus Did Not Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies.
        What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? One of the central themes of biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4, 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)

We looked at Micah 4 yesterday and the day before. Now let's look at Isaiah 2, which is basically the same prophecy. (Nobody seems positively certain who copied from whom.)

Isaiah 2:1-4

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

 Essentially the same passage as Micah 4

It speaks of the Christianization of the world. All nations will gradually "flow" to the truth.

It stands in contrast to the contention of this Jewish website (below) that the Messiah will fulfill all the wonderful messianic prophecies "outright." It's a process, and God's people are instruments of change.

When people say "Come, let us go," there is an element of persuasion, education, and exhortation. They have not instantly begun obeying, like zombies, the Law of God. We see a continuing process, not an abrupt, historic discontinuity. 

  • The prophet Daniel said that the "mountain" begins as a rock, and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-45).
  • Isaiah said of the Messiah, "of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end" (Isaiah 9:6-7).  "His authority shall grow continually..." (NRSV).

The prophecies do not demand perfection, nor preclude a lengthy process of transformation. The prophets do not say that the transformation from the barbaric world of Isaiah's day to the civilized world of the Messiah would be an instantaneous transformation. 

This is a critical point. How does the transformation take place? Does the Messiah, as heir to the throne of David, accomplish the transformation using the "archist" techniques of Solomon? Will he, like Solomon, lay on Israel (and the world?) a heavy yoke of taxation to finance chariots and weapons of war (1 Kings 12:11) and fulfill the curses spoken of by Moses and by the Prophet Samuel? 

The first two passages seem to suggest that the non-Israelite nations would "flow" or "stream" towards God's Law, suggesting a gradual process of increasing obedience and blessing rather than instantaneous global transformation. 

Most Christians definitely believe in a passive, instantaneous transformation. By "passive" I mean that most Christians reject the imperative to "build the kingdom," and the idea that the Messiah reigns through the saints, who are priests and kings in a world without priests and kings.