9.5 THESES FOR THE NEXT REFORMATION

We the undersigned, out of love for the truth and a desire to see all Christians honor and acknowledge all that God has revealed in his Word, submit these 9.5 Theses* for your prayerful evaluation and participation with us in calling for further reform. May these theses be the spark that ignites the next Reformation of Christianity.

1. Everything Jesus said would happen, happened exactly as and when He said it would-within the lifetime of his contemporaries.

2. Everything every New Testament writer expected to happen, happened exactly as and when they expected it would-within their lifetime-as they were guided into all truth and told the things that were to come by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13).

3. Scholars across a broad spectrum are in general agreement that this is exactly how every NT writer and the early Church understood Jesus' words. If they were wrong on something this important, how can we trust them to have conveyed other aspects of the faith accurately, such as the requirements for salvation?

4. No inspired NT writer, writing twenty or more years later, ever corrected their Holy-Spirit-guided understanding and fulfillment expectations (Jn.16:13). Neither should we. Instead, they intensified their language as the"appointed time of the end" (Dan. 12:4; Hab. 2:3) drew near-from Jesus' "this generation" (Mat. 24:34), to Peter's "the end of all things is at hand" and "for it is time for judgment to begin" (1 Pet. 4:7, 17), and John's "this is
the last hour . . . . it is the last hour" (1 Jn. 2:18).

5. Partial fulfillment is not satisfactory. 3 out of 5, 7 out of 10, etc., won't work. Partial does not pass the test of a true prophet (Deut. 18:18-22). Again, Jesus time-restricted all of his end-time predictions to occur within the 1st-century time frame.

6. God is faithful (2 Pet. 3:9) and "not a man that he should lie" (Num. 23:19). Faithfulness means not only doing what was promised, but also doing it when it was promised.

7. 1st-century fulfillment expectations were the correct ones and everything happened, right on time-no gaps, no gimmicks, no interruptions, no postponements, no delays, no exegetical gymnastics, and no changing the meaning of commonly used and normally understood words. Such manipulative devices have only given liberals and skeptics a foothold to discredit
Christ's Deity and the inerrancy of Scripture.

8. What needs adjusting is our understanding of both the time and nature of fulfillment, and not manipulation of the time factor to conform to our popular, futuristic, and delay expectations.

9. The kingdom of God was the central teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a present but greatly under-realized reality, and must again become the central teaching of his Church.

9.5. We have been guilty of proclaiming a half-truth-a partially delivered faith to the world and to fellow Christians. We must repent and earnestly "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). If Christianity has been as effective as it has by proclaiming that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came, died for our sins, bodily arose from the
dead, and ascended to Heaven "at just the right time" (Rom. 5:6; Dan. 9:24-27), how much more effective might it be if we started preaching, teaching, and practicing the whole truth-i.e., a faith in which everything else also happened "at just the right time," exactly as and when Jesus said it would and every NT writer expected (Jn. 16:13). Dare we continue to settle for less?

Surely today, the words of Martin Luther, as he stood in defense before the Diet of Worms in 1521, are still applicable and compelling for the "always reforming" Church:

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures ... and my conscience is captive to the Word of God.... I cannot do otherwise."
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* Based on Martin Luther's famous "95 Theses" that were posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Luther's document empowered and propelled the Protestant Reformation.

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ORIGINAL SIGNATORIES

John Noe, President
Prophecy Reformation Institute
Indianapolis, Indiana

Edward E. Stevens, President
International Preterist Association
Bradford, Pennsylvania

John Anderson, President
Lighthouse World Ministries
Sparta, North Carolina

Mike Lightfoot, Pastor
Father's House Fellowship
Clarkston, Washington

Kenneth J. Davies, President
Grace Ministries
Lemon Grove, California

Jerry Wayne Bernard, Vice President
Scripture Research, Inc.
Riverside, California

Jerry Hester, Pastor
Dominion Community Church
Greer, South Carolina

Gene Fadeley, President
Anchor Publishing
Charlotte, North Carolina

Stan Newton, Pastor
Missionary to Bulgaria
Seattle, Washington

Walter Koch, Pastor
Emanuel Centro Christiano
El Monte, California

Danny Griffin, President
Carolina Christian Ministries
Charlotte, North Carolina

Walter C. Hibbard, Former Founder & Chairman
Great Christian Books, Inc.
Newark, Delaware

Terry Siverd, Minister
Cortland Church of Christ
Cortland, Ohio

Joseph Lewis, Pastor
Fulfilled Bible Fellowship
Delair, New Jersey

Arthur J. Melanson, President
Joy of the Lord Ministry
Audubon, New Jersey

Terry M. Hall, Minister
Miami Valley Church
Beavercreek, Ohio

Rod Moyses, Manager
M2ktalk.Com, (internet-satellite radio networks)
Fresno, California

Timothy R. King, Pastor
Central Baptist Church
Grand Junction, Colorado

Jack C. Scott, Jr., Minister
Glacier View Church
Kalispell, Montana

A. Wilson Phillips, Pastor
Abundant Life Covenant Church
Springfield, Missouri

Thomas A. Price, Jr., Pastor
Sherman Community Church
Sherman, New York

Don K. Preston, Minister
Ardmore Church of Christ
Ardmore, Oklahoma

David Curtis, Pastor
Berean Bible Church
Chesapeake, Virginia

Jessie E. Mills, Jr., Minister
Central Church of Christ
Bonifay, Florida

Bud Fleisher, Host/Producer
"Let's Talk Religion" (radio program)
Clearwater, Florida

Ron Smith, President
Friendship In Action (mission work in Mexico)
Mission, Texas

Bill Clark Brumbaugh, Host
Proactive News (nat'l syndicated radio program)
Bozeman, Montana

James R. Hopkins, Minister
Daleville Church of Christ
Daleville, Alabama

William Bell, Minister
Raines Road Church of Christ
Memphis, Tennessee

Published by the Prophecy Reformation Institute (PRI): a conservative, evangelical ministry dedicated to continuing the Reformation into the field of eschatology-end-time Bible prophecy, and by the International Preterist Association (IPA).

Copyright © 2001 by John Noe
All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced or transmitted by any means in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission, but only in its entirety.

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BOOKS FOR THE NEXT REFORMATION

THE NEXT REFORMATION HAS BEGUN

November 20, 2001

MODERN-DAY REFORMERS POST "9.5 THESES" DOCUMENT ON "CHURCH DOOR"

(COLORADO SPRINGS) - A new era in church history began with the "posting on the Church door" (i.e., presenting and distributing) of the enclosed 9.5 Theses for the Next Reformation document at the 53rd Annual Meeting of Evangelical Theological Society held in Colorado Springs, Colorado on November 14-16, 2001. The text of the "9.5 Theses" is copied below this News Release.

The document is patterned after Martin Luther's famous "95 Theses" that were posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Luther's document empowered and propelled the Protestant Reformation.

The 9.5 Theses document has been crafted to finish the job of reform in the previously un-addressed field of eschatology (end-time Bible prophecy). Thirty original signers endorsed the document. These modern-day reformers include church pastors, ministers, teachers, media hosts, and ministry leaders from across the country. Additional signatures are being added
daily.

Over 800 of the 1400 ETS scholars in attendance stopped by the International Preterist Association's exhibit booth and picked up a copy of this one-page, two-sided document. Its first "posting" created quite a stir. Most voiced a desire to study it more closely. Many were happy to see this area of our theology finally being reformed. The four fellows who worked the IPA exhibit booth discussed the Theses and the idea of the Next Reformation in detail with over a hundred people right there at the booth. One theologian lamented, "I just can't believe there isn't an eschatological end on the horizon." Another complained, "this is so radical." But radical is the nature of reform, and many agreed that our eschatological views need
reform--especially in light of the "Left Behind" phenomenon.

The Evangelical Theological Society is the professional society of conservative, evangelical scholars. Its purpose is "to foster conservative biblical scholarship by providing a medium for the oral exchange and written expression of thought and research in the general field of the theological disciplines as centered in the Scriptures."

More "postings" are planned for the "9.5 Theses for the Next Reformation."

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

John Noe, President
Prophecy Reformation Institute
Ph. # 317-842-3411
E-mail: jnoe@prophecyrefi.org

(OR)

Edward E. Stevens, President
International Preterist Assoc.
Ph. # 814-368-6578
E-mail: Preterist1@aol.com

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9.5 THESES FOR THE NEXT REFORMATION

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THE NEXT REFORMATION HAS BEGUN

MODERN-DAY REFORMERS POST "9.5 THESES" DOCUMENT ON "CHURCH DOOR"

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