Is My Minister Friend Saved?

I have an old Friend who is a Minister for a Community Church. He really has different views on the Church and Israel, the rapture and so on. He believes that we are currently living in the Millennial Age, That the Church represents Israel, The Temple has already been rebuilt and destroyed. How should I handle this, and is he actually saved?

Q. Hello Jack, thanks again for your great work, may God bless you.

I have an old Friend who is a Minister for a Community Church, we were talking the other night and he really has different views on the Church and Israel, the rapture and so on…He claims to be born again. He believes that we are currently living in the Millennial Age, That the Church represents Israel, The Temple has already been rebuilt and destroyed, and on and on. I am a little worried for him, I love him, but I don’t want to argue with him. I am firm in my beliefs, almost 100% of your views. How should I handle this, and is he actually saved?

A. Your friend sounds like a Preterist, someone who believes that all Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled. Of all the views on prophecy, it’s the most difficult to reconcile with a literal interpretation of Scripture. Many Preterists also advocate replacement theology because if prophecy has been fulfilled then there’s no reason for Israel to exist. Several major denominations teach these views in their seminaries.

Our salvation is based only on our belief that Jesus died for our sins, not on our interpretation of prophecy. So if your friend is saved, this view, no matter how wrong, will not endanger his salvation. But it’s going to be difficult to discuss this with him because in order to support his views, he has had to re-interpret several major details of prophecy.