(Originally posted here at The Preterist Blog.)

I disagree with Hank Hanegraaff, the so-called "Bible Answer Man," in several areas, and I am frustrated by an arrogance that seems to permeate his speech and writing. Nevertheless, his The Last Disciple was really the beginning of my transition from futurism to preterism. It was not terribly long after that, however, that I stopped daily listening to his show, and so I was not aware that he had written The Apocalypse Code. So I haven't read it, nor am I particularly interested in reading it, though I am interested to know what some of your takes on it are.

In any case, a friend of mine was recently handed a book by a friend of his who claimed that he was on the fence regarding preterism, but upon reading it returned firmly to the futurist position. My friend, too, is on the fence, and asked if I would read it and share my thoughts with him. The book is Breaking the Apocalypse Code by Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice. I have not read every page, but what I have read, suffice it to say, has only further solidified my preterist view. I emailed CRI asking if Hank had written a response, and I was told he hasn't. I figured, then, what better way to share my thoughts with my friend than to write a review myself?

CHAPTER 10: UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES: "SOON" AND "NEAR"

I'm going to review the book chapter-by-chapter, but not starting at the beginning. I've begun with this chapter for three reasons: First, I think the so-called "time texts" provide some of the strongest support for the preterist view. Second, I've yet to find any futurist response to them remotely satisfying. And third, Hitchcock's and Ice's treatment in this chapter of the preterist case is terribly dismal, and quite frankly I want that to be remembered by my readers as we continue in other chapters later.

Here is how this chapter begins:
"One of the linchpins in Hanegraaff's interpretation of Revelation and his entire eschatological system is his insistence that the events in Revelation had to occur within a few years of the time Revelation was written. He bases this idea primarily on the occurrence of the words 'soon' (tachos) and 'near' (engus) in Revelation (1:1, 3). Hanegraaff says, 'We interpret the Bible in accordance with the basic rules of language...To say we are going to have dinner 'soon' could not possibly mean dinner in the distant future.' He continues, 'Though LaHaye spiritualizes the meaning of 'soon' in the first verse of Revelation, there is no reason for anyone else to take it any other way than in its plain meaning and natural sense.'" (p. 177)
Indeed, the letter begins, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon [ἐν τάχει] take place" (Revelation 1:1). As the authors point out, "the adverbial unit en tachei...is defined as 'soon, in a short time'" (p. 178). John goes on to say, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near [ἐγγύς]" (Revelation 1:3). Hitchcock and Ice admit that "it means...'being close in point of time'" (p. 178).

It would seem clear, then, that John is saying that the events he was shown would take place shortly after he was shown them. This is consistent with numerous other "time texts" that strongly suggest an early fulfillment of many eschatological prophecies. How do the authors of Breaking the Apocalypse Code respond to this argument?

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