It is shown in this statement how Preterist see a transition from old things to new things in the realms of history. It is often overlooked by Preterist that this transition from OLD to NEW really occurs as one passes from the OLD MAN to the NEW MAN by being born again, and is consummated when one dies and puts off "first tabernacle". That "first tabernacle" not being the physical temple of sticks and stones, but is referring to our fleshly bodies which waxes old and ready to disappear. (1 Peter 1:24) For, "All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off . .
The transition period of the gospel consistantly transitions the of putting off of flesh (covenant of death), and putting on the spirit (covenant of life) and places it outside the context of historical fulfillment. Being born again is not something that is historical fulfilled or a past event. Being born again means dying to our old man. However, when we die to the flesh by being born again, or physical bodies do not die. Our physical bodies are still present, after we are born again, but our body is alive becuase of the Spirit which is in us. Those born again become a part of the new covenant or new creation, but the old covenant (of the flesh) remains in tact until the flesh has been removed or passes away.
As Paul says in II Tim. 4:6 THE TIME of my departure IS AT HAND. This statement can not be refering to 70ad but a consumation of physical death and entry into heaven. There is no escaping the fact the war Paul saw waging war within him was a war between flesh and spirit. Paul was proving that the covenantal transitions is not historical but the revealing a individual process of maturing ones faith to be found worthy and faithful to enter into the age to come.
Thinking about this transition as merely a natural process in history has many problems. First, it fails you and me, since it places this transition as a historic regeneration or transition rather than a individual regeneration or transition. Thus 70ad is what separates the old from the new rather than Christ. It also implys that the OLD has been removed for all men, and assumes that this process of transition is a mere past event. It also implys that since the old has been removed, there is no longer seperation from God, no more death, no more judgment, no longer a need to be born again, and no longer a need to be resurected into the presense of God. Making history the transition point continues to reveal the countless number of errors that compound the problem.
New Earth Christian Studies
If they were looking forward to something, waiting eagerly for it, then they did not yet possess it in its fullness. And yet, there was always a sense in which they already owned it. They had the down payment. It was not that the New Covenant had not yet begun: It had, but it was not in full effect, until the Old Covenant was utterly destroyed. They were free of it's burden of slavery, but until the first tabernacle was removed, the way into the Holy Place and complete access to God was not disclosed. The Christians of the time were in a unique position: They were living not just between covenants, but in the end times of the Old Covenant which coincided with the beginning of the New.
http://www.geocities.com/newearthcs/main.html
