Gary DeMar of American Vision has just released his AV Year in Review. He writes,
Also, there was a theological controversy over questions I’ve been asking regarding eschatology going back 25 years. Friends and foes alike took exception. A letter was written to me signed by some friends and a few people I do not know demanding that I answer three questions. I refused to answer them because of their narrow focus. I answered as best I could in written form, but it turned out not to be enough for them. The goal was to get me to capitulate. Threats of bankrupting AV was the goal of some of them.
As a result, AV was deplatformed by the Fight, Laugh, Feast Network and Canon Press and streaming service Canon+. They no longer carry my very orthodox books on eschatology that have been a mainstay of help for hundreds of thousands of people around the world for more than 30 years.
Some background for those unaware: Before receiving the letter in question, Gary had expressed doubts about essential Christian doctrines, such as the resurrection of the dead and the visible return of Christ, through various mediums like articles, Facebook posts, and podcasts. Particularly on Facebook, he ridiculed the notion of God resurrecting bodies that had turned to dust and ‘no longer exist.’
In response, a group of individuals sent Gary a private letter seeking clarification on whether he affirmed three fundamental Christian doctrines: (1) the future bodily and visible return of Christ, (2) the resurrection of the body, and (3) the final judgment on the last day. Gary is correct when he now says, “I refused to answer them…” But then he says this, “I answered as best I could in written form, but it turned out not to be enough for them.” THAT is a flat-out LIE. Although Gary did draft a letter, he ultimately heeded his wife's advice not to send it. But don’t take my word for it. This information is supported by excerpts from two podcast episodes where Gary alludes to his decision not to respond based on his wife's counsel and then explicitly states, in the second show, that he did not send the letter.
It is a lie for Gary to claim, "it turned out not to be enough for them," when, in reality, he never sent anything. This is a fabrication intended to unjustly impugn the character of the 14 individuals who sent the letter.
Instead of sending a written response, Gary initiated a new podcast with a full-preterist associate named Kim Burgess, titled "Covenant Hermeneutics and Biblical Eschatology” and now they want to sell you that work as a two-book series with the subtitle "New Testament Eschatology Accomplished and Applied."
Still think Gary is just “asking questions”?
For those who tuned in to the podcast, the subtitle should come as no surprise. The hosts explicitly communicated that they are advocating for “full-preterism” with continued application: [listen here]
[Kim] I talked about redemption accomplished redemption applied. Redemption accomplished I'm talking about the objective, the covenantal, corporate. When I talk about redemption applied I'm talking about the subjective, the existential, the individual. Now here's where I think, there's nothing, I think the debate today is just like two ships passing in the dark. It's people arguing over apples and oranges thinking they were talking about the same fruit without understanding this distinction here. Redemption accomplished is what I mean when I call myself a full preterist. That person and work of Christ is done and it was completed in that period between AD30 and AD70. There's your full preterism. But has it all been worked out? Has it all been applied? Am I yet a sinless individual? Do I yet have my resurrection embodiment? No I don't. Therefore there must be something more here. Yes redemption applied. There's your partial preterism. It's only begun and it's in the process but it's not finished yet. In other words you learn when you do this stuff, stop creating false dichotomies and stop creating dualisms, either or, and start having this both/and mentality of unity and diversity, diversity and unity. Redemption accomplished, done, finished, full preterist, period. Redemption applied, partial preterist, it's still in process. It's a work still in process. [Gary] Yeah. Okay. [Kim] And that, if people only get back man it's going to catapult the debate into a whole new level and we get past this apples and oranges and throwing rocks at each other and creating false dichotomies. You see that? [Gary] I do. I mean I do. And it is frustrating because people are working with one set of paradigms and the other side is working with another set of paradigms. [Kim] Exactly. And then you can't agree. [Gary] And then you've got the ping pong ball going back and forth. No, no, no. It's this and this. And the ball is the same but the paradigms used in order to interpret those things is different.
Gary claims, "The goal was to get me to capitulate."
In reality, the goal was for Gary to honestly and clearly disclose his beliefs, especially concerning his mockery of the resurrection. Instead of providing a straightforward response, he portrays himself as a victim, lies about what took place, and is now attempting to profit by selling full-preterist heresy.
Romans 16.17-18 : I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Mark this man.