By Samuel M. Frost, Th. M.
Don Preston’s second article, ‘The Passing of the Law of Moses and the Increasing Desperation of Sam Frost #2’, continues to open up the debate between us. I will simple list the points here and respond.
First, Preston, right off the bat, misunderstands my argument. He writes, “He gives us a labored “explanation” of Matthew 5:17-18 attempting to show that Jesus’ words there do not necessitate the fulfillment of the law of Moses– every jot and every tittle of it– before it could vanish away.” Well, no. I did not say this. I said that the fulfillment of the laws of Moses (the 613 commandments) would not cause every jot and tittle of the entire Hebrew corpus to disappear, because the fulfillment of the laws of Moses does not equate to the entire fulfillment of the entire Hebrew Bible (of which the 613 commandments of Moses are only a part). Preston, as proven in my first response to his series, plays the shell game here. Even in this article, he states, “…Frost agrees is a comprehensive term for the entirety of what we call the Old Testament.” I can’t seem to get Mr. Preston to understand the fact that the 613 commandments of Moses, which constituted a covenant made with Moses (Deuteronomy 5), is not the entire Hebrew Bible.
Yet, Preston continues to labor under this point. Paul, in Romans 8.4, wrote, “…in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” That word, “fulfilled” there is the same in our text, Matthew 5.17. The Law is fulfilled in Christ and Christ in us. Yet, clearly, there are many other “jots and tittles” that needed to be fulfilled at the time of Paul’s writing. Therefore, by strict logic, the law was fulfilled, but not every jot and tittle passed away until all the other jots and tittles of the Hebrew Bible were fulfilled. They all stand and pass away together. Many prophecies have been fulfilled, but they have not “disappeared”. The 613 commandments of Moses have been fulfilled, but they have not “disappeared”. The fact that they have been fulfilled (at the cross and resurrection, and therefore, set aside), does not mean that they have “disappeared” any more than the fact that many prophecies at the time of Jesus were fulfilled, but did not equate to their disappearance. We still read them. Not one jot will disappear until they are all fulfilled.
Now, in spite of the fact that Preston does not address this issue, he dives right into the issue of heaven and earth. Before he does this, however, he must first make an insinuation: “I should observe that while Frost assures us that the OT predicts the end of the material heaven and earth, he did not give us any documentation. He offered not a verse to support that claim.” Well, no I didn’t because that was not the gist of my paper. “Don’t you think it would be somewhat important to prove this foundational part of his argument? It is insufficient to simply claim something to be true, especially something that is critical to your argument. I took note in the first installment that Frost made the claim that material heaven and earth is what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 5, yet, once again, he offered no proof for his claims. His presumptive approach is, to say the least, disturbing and revealing.” This is simply a smokescreen. The point of my paper was not the materiality of the heavens and the earth, and thus, I did not labor on it. How that is “disturbing” I have not clue, except that it is meant to throw the reader off.
Preston knows full well that the vast majority of scholars support my claim that the Bible addresses the “heavens and the earth” as, well, any school child knows what that phrase means. Look outside. In fact, in a very well received and critically acclaimed book, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology, by J. Richard Middleton, Baker Academic, 2014, makes this entirely certain. Even the renowned Hebraist and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann responded with, “”Richard Middleton plunges boldly into a most-treasured misreading of the Bible. He shows the way in which ‘other-worldly’ hope of ‘going to heaven’ is a total misread of gospel faith. In a demanding, sure-footed way he walks the reader through a rich deposit of biblical texts to make clear that the gospel concerns the transformation of the earth and not escape from it. Middleton summons us to repentance for such a mistaken understanding that has had disastrous practical implications. This is a repentance that he himself avows. When his book catches on, it will have an immense impact on the way in which we think and act about our common future in the gospel, a common future with important socioeconomic, political derivatives. The reader will be rewarded by Middleton’s boldness.” Preston’s view is just that: “going to heaven” is the goal. The creation itself will never be transformed. It is a “total misread of the gospel faith.”
Be that as it may, Preston labors again under the impression that the eventual end of the present heavens and earth as they now are means that I endorse a replacement of them by a new heavens and new earth. This is entirely at odds with Biblical scholarship. Rather, it is a transformation. A caterpillar is not replaced with a butterfly. It is transformed. Re-created. Huge difference.
Preston’s first point is: “The Old Covenant affirms the eternality of the material creation.” Now, it’s hard to tell if he means by “old covenant” the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, or just the 613 commandments of Moses made with the Israelites in Moses’ day. Regardless, I also affirm the same thing. Heavens and earth will continue forever. Transformation does not mean, logically, replacement. Transformation cannot mean, by definition, that the sun, moon, stars and earth with “disappear” in terms of their constituent substance. However, Preston thinks that this is what I believe.
Preston brings up the Flood, which actually illustrates my point. The Flood was universal (I believe, but will not substantiate that here, and perhaps Preston will find that “disturbing and revealing” that I do not offer “proof” for my assertion…but that’s not the point of this paper). The earth and the heavens were changed. But not replaced. The topography was changed. Not replaced. Even our Beloved Apostle stated, “For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished” (2 Peter 3.5-6). The world that then existed perished. The heavens and the earth did not. They will be transformed. The world that now exists, with Death as an enemy, and Sin, and all the other atrocities, will perish. Preston denies this, and in fact, preaches the infinity of atrocity. Jesus’ prayer, rooted in Second Temple Judaism, makes it clear: thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Whatever the kingdom “is” in heaven, so it will be on earth. Jesus’ kingdom will be the only kingdom left standing. All others will perish at his feet, every rule, power and authority.
Nonetheless, Preston strangely states that since God promised never to destroy “every living creature” as he did in the Flood, then, somehow, he will not ever transform the heavens and the earth. This is puzzling, and easily dismissed, because that final judgment is not a destruction of “every living creature” on earth! Where does the Bible say this? Are the Christians destroyed? Secondly, the text of Genesis states, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:21-22). That little Hebrew word, “while” means “as long as”. “As long as the earth remains.” How long is that?
After spending some time on the Flood, none of which dismisses my premise, Preston does rightly ask, “It will naturally be rejoined that there are OT prophecies of the passing of “heaven and earth.” And of course, that is true. However, are those prophecies contradictions of the passages we have cited, or, is there something else about those predictions that must be examined?” In fact, we could have saved a lot of space and time here. This is an admission. Yet, the Bible also speaks of the passing of heaven and earth. It also speaks, as Preston has quoted a few verses to this effect, about the continuation of heaven and earth. Thus, we are set with a conundrum, a paradox, a supposed contradiction. Ecclesiastes says, “the earth will remain forever” (1.4). The psalmist says, “heaven and the earth shall be consumed.” Can’t have both. Logically, to solve this, one statement is wrong. But, since we believe in the Bible, we can’t go that route. Or, the dissolving of the heaven and the earth is not their destruction (i.e., they cease to be in terms of original substance), but their transformation. Earth will endure forever, and this in no way mitigates against its being transformed. Or, Preston is right, heaven and earth were merely symbols for Herod’s ego inflated Temple during Jesus’ day (which he failed to marvel at with his disciples), and the old covenant of Moses. But, this is a stretch. It certainly relieves the supposed paradox, but at what cost? As we shall continue, the cost is very, very great.
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Author: Samuel M. Frost, Th.D.
Samuel M. Frost has gained the recognition of his family, peers, colleagues, church members, and local community as a teacher and leader. Samuel was raised in the Foursquare Gospel tradition and continued in the rising Charismatic Movement of the early 1980’s. While serving in local congregations he was admitted to Liberty Christian College in Pensacola, Florida where he lived on campus for four years earning his Bachelor’s of Theology degree. It was there under the tutelage of Dr. Dow Robinson (Summer Institutes of Linguistics), and Dr. Frank Longino (Dallas Theological Seminary) that he was motivated to pursue a career in Theology. Dr. Robinson wrote two books on Linguistics, Workbook on Phonological Analysis (SIL, 1970) and Manuel for Bilingual Dictionaries: Textbook (SIL, 1969). It was under these teachers’ guidance that Frost entered into his Master’s studies, being granted a scholarship for Greek I and II at Pentecostal Theological Seminary, accredited, in Cleveland, Tennessee (adjunct of Lee University). Frost completed his study under Dr. French Arrington (The Ministry of Reconciliation, Baker Books, 1980), who used the text of J. Gresham Machen, New Testament Greek for Beginners.
Frost studied Hebrew for two years under Dr. Mark Futato (author, Beginning Biblical Hebrew, Eisenbrauns, 2003) and Dr. Bruce K. Waltke (author, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, Eisenbrauns, 1990) at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida. With combined credits from PTS and RTS, Samuel completed his Master of Arts in Christian Studies and Master of Arts in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary in Lakeland, Florida under the direct tutelage of Dr. Kenneth G. Talbot, co-author of the well reviewed work, Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism (Whitefield Media, 2005) with Dr. Gary Crampton (and Foreword by the late, Dr. D. James Kennedy). Dr. Talbot also oversaw Samuel’s Dissertation, From the First Adam to the Second and Last Adam (2012) earning him the Magister Theologiae (Th.M.) degree. He also helped put together A Student’s Hebrew Primer for WTS, designed and graded exams for their Hebrew Languages course.
Samuel’s studies lead him into an issue in the field of Eschatology where his scholarship and unique approach in Hermeneutics garnered him recognition. Because of the controversial nature of some of his conclusions, scholars were sharp in their disagreement with him. Frost’s initial work, Misplaced Hope: The Origins of First and Second Century Eschatology (2002, Second Edition, 2006 Bi-Millennial Publishing), sold over four thousand units. While arguing for the Reformation understanding of sola Scriptura as defined by the Westminster Confession of Faith, Frost’s book launched a heavily footnoted argument for a total reassessment of the doctrine known as the Second Coming of Christ. The conclusion was that the events of the war of the Jewish nation against their Roman overlords in 66-70 C.E. formed the New Testament authors’ eschatological outlook, and went no further than their own first century generation; a view otherwise known as “full” or "hyper" Preterism. Internationally recognized Evangelical author and speaker, Steve Wohlberg remarked, ‘On the “preterist” side today…we have such influential leaders as Gary DeMar, Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., David Chilton, R.C. Sproul, Max King, James Stuart Russell, Samuel M. Frost, and John Noe. To these scholars…the beast is not on the horizon, he’s dead” (Italics, his)” (End Time Delusions, Destiny Image Publishers, 2004, page 133). It should be noted that only Noe, King and Frost supported the “full” Preterist position.
Thomas Ice and co-author of the best selling Left Behind series, Tim LaHaye, quote Frost’s work, Misplaced Hope, as well in their book, The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming under Attack (Harvest House Publishers, 2003, page 40). Dr. Jay E. Adams, who single handedly launched “a revolution” in Christian Counseling with his work, Competent to Counsel: An Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling, (1970, Zondervan), also wrote an analysis of Frost’s work in Preterism: Orthodox or Unorthodox? (Ministry Monographs for Modern Times, INS Publishing, 2004). Adams wrote of Misplaced Hope as a "useful, scholarly work" (p.6 - though he disagreed with the overall thesis). Dr. Charles E. Hill, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, wrote of Misplaced Hope that Frost, “attacks the problem of the early church in a much more thoroughgoing way than I have seen” (When Shall These Things Be? A Reformed Response to Hyper Preterism, Ed. Keith Mathison, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2003, ‘Eschatology in the Wake of Jerusalem’s Fall’ p. 110-ff.). There were several other works as well that took the scholarship of Frost seriously, like Ergun Caner in The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective, Eds., Steve W. Lemke and David L. Allen (B&H Publishing, 2011).
Because of the controversial nature of Frost’s conclusions on these matters, it was difficult to find a denomination within the Church-at-Large to work in terms of pastoral ministry. That situation changed when Samuel was called by a Bible study group in Saint Petersburg, Florida to found a congregation. Christ Covenant Church was established in 2002 operating under the principles outlined by Presbyterian historian James Bannerman’s work, The Church of Christ: A Treatise on the Nature, Powers, Ordinances, Discipline, and Government of the Christian Church (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974, original, 1869). By-Laws and a Constitution were drawn up in the strictest manner for what was considered an “Independent” establishment of a Presbyterian Church, granted that a “call” was received and recognized by Presiding Elders duly ordained from existing and recognized denominations. Two Elders, one ordained in the Reformed Presbyterian Church (Mike Delores), and another ordained in the Presbyterian Church of America (Dr. Kelly N. Birks, now deceased) tested and reviewed the call, ordaining Samuel on October 20th, 2002, the Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity. Proper forms were submitted to Tallahassee, Florida with the stamp of a Notary Public Witness. Christ Covenant Church (CCC) functioned as a local church for five years with a congregation as large as 30 members. Frost was gaining recognition after Misplaced Hope had been published in January of that year, and conferences were hosted that included debates with another prominent "full" Preterist educator, Don K. Preston. CCC hosted best-selling authors, Thomas Ice, and Mark Hitchcock from Dallas Theological Seminary; and Dr. James B. Jordan (Westminster Theological Seminary), well-known author/pastor in Reformed theological circles. Frost was invited for the next several years to speak at over 25 conferences nation-wide, was featured in articles and an appearance on local news in Tampa for one of CCC’s conferences. The Evangelical Theological Society also invited Samuel to speak at the Philadelphia conference (Frost is currently a Member of ETS as well as Society of Biblical Literature).
During this time Samuel had submitted one more book, Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead (TruthVoice, 2008; repr. JaDon Publishing, 2010); and co-wrote, House Divided: A Reformed Response to When Shall These Things Be? (Vision International, 2010). Frost also wrote several Forewords for up and coming authors who were influenced by his teaching materials, as well as cited many times in books, lectures and academic papers. However, because of certain aspects of Hermeneutics and Frost’s undaunted commitment to scholarship (with always a strong emphasis on the personal nature of devotional living to Christ), several challenges to the "hyper" Preterist view he espoused finally gave way, largely due to the unwavering commitment to Samuel by the Dean of Whitefield Theological Seminary, Dr. Kenneth G. Talbot, who continually challenged him. In what shocked the "hyper" Preterist world, Samuel announced after the Summer of 2010 that he was in serious error, and departed the movement as a whole, along with Jason Bradfield, now Assistant Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Lakeland, Florida . Christ Covenant Church had dissolved after 2007 while Samuel continued as a public speaker and writer, largely due to reasons that would unravel Frost’s commitment to "hyper" Preterism as a whole.
The documentation of Frost’s departure was published by American Vision’s Founder, Gary DeMar, with a Foreword by Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry. Why I Left Full Preterism (AV Publishing, 2012) quickly ran through its first run. The book was later republished under the arm of Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry and is sold today (GoodBirth Ministries Publishing, 2019; though still available in Kindle form from American Vision). Dr. Gentry also gave mention to Frost in his book, Have We Missed the Second Coming: A Critique of Hyper Preterism (Victorious Hope Publishing, 2016), noting him as "one of the most prominent" teachers within Full Preterism (135). Dr. Keith Mathison, Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformation Bible College in Sanford, Florida, endorsed the book as well. Samuel has gone on to write, Daniel: Unplugged (McGahan Publishing House, 2021); The Parousia of the Son of Man (Lulu Publishing, 2019); God: As Bill Wilson Understood Him, A Theological Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous (Lulu Publishing, 2017). He is also active as a certified Chaplain with the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana, and enrolled with ICAADA (Indiana Counselor’s Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse), and worked directly under Dr. Dennis Greene, Founder of Christian Counseling and Addictions Services, Inc., for a year. Frost’s passion is in the education of the local church on various issues and occasionally works with Pastor Alan McCraine with the First Presbyterian Church in Lewisville, Indiana, and Bethel Presbyterian Church, Knightstown, Indiana, where he periodically is called upon to give the sermon. Samuel, with his wife, Kimberly, helped to establish Heaven’s Bread Basket food pantry that donates food items to local families in need once a month – a ministry of the Session of First Presbyterian Church, Lewisville, Indiana.
Samuel also works part time at Ace Hardware in New Castle, Indiana for several years. He has a solid, family reputation in the community, and has performed local marriages and funerals. He also sits on the Board of the Historical Preservation Committee in New Castle. Recently, he has completed his two year quest for a Th.D from Christian Life School of Theology Global, Georgia.
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