Bell by his statement reveals the key problem which is spiritual death. He defines spiritual death by showing that the death Adam suffered when he ate from the tree of good and evil was not physical in nature. I agree that this death is not physical in nature, but is referring to that which is spiritual. However, Bell then maintains that in 70 AD, God removed the law, and destroyed sin and death. On this issue, I disagree with Bell and believe he makes a huge assumption that comes with much baggage. The victory over SIN and DEATH is not removed in 70ad. When the Romans took Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, this was not some mystical moment in time, were Victory was somehow gained over SIN AND DEATH. I believe SIN and DEATH are still present, and are still very much a part of the "present age" which Jesus refers to. I believe SIN and DEATH are still very much apart of those who live after the flesh who are part of the "present heavens and earth". If this is true, and SIN AND DEATH are still present after 70AD then NOTHING passed in 70AD as Bell maintains. I might agree with Bell, if he were to say "this was the sign of" or "the revealing of" or "the manifested this truth" but he does not use that kind of language to describe what passed in 70AD. He is in fact describing a spiritual event which is the resurrection of passing from death to life, separate and apart from being in Christ, and does so in a way in which death is completely removed after the historical period of time of 70ad. If this is really what Bell means, and death has been completely removed, how is this NOT Universalism. Is their another SIN, another LAW, another DEATH which stands to condemn the ungodly.
Additional note: How can you say that there is sin if the last enemy has been destroyed? In other words, Full Pret is not just universalistic through the removal of sin. Oh, but wait. . . it wasn't SIN that was destroyed . . it was "THE" sin! AS IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "THE SIN" AND "SIN" and "THE DEATH" and "DEATH".
William Bell Book:The Re-Examination (A Review of William Jones "An Examination of the A.D. 70 teaching
page 73-74 "The sting of [the death] is [the] sin, and the strength of [the] sin is the law." What is the strength of sin? It is "THE LAW." What Law? The Law of Moses. "Moreover the law entered that the offense might about..." (Rom. 5.20). Paul is talking about "the sin" committed by Adam, which brought about "the death" of Adam, which was not physical death. Adam did not die physically the day he ate; however, just as his eyes were opened the day he ate, he died. Adam was not physically blind before he ate of the tree. The statement concerning his "eyes being opened" refers to his awakened conscious resulting from sin (Gen. 3:7) In like manner, his death was not a physical death, but spiritual death or condemnation (Rom. 5:18) which resulted in his being expelled from the Garden and hence cut off from the tree of life. That is "the death" caused by "the sin" of rebellion against God-man seeking to be his own god, guided by his own will and strength. To be cut off, separated from God and the tree of life is "the death." This is why the victory over sin is stated in the present tense in 1 Cor. 15:57. "But thanks be to God, who gives, [literally, is giving] us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. God was at that time in the process of fulfilling the law and setting it aside. The law would no longer have the power to condemn because of the gospel. The time of consummation was near- at hand. Soon, the Lord would come and fulfill all things spoken by the prophets. That is when the law would pass, when sin and Hades (death) would be destroyed. It all came to pass in AD70, when Jesus said, these are the days of vengeance in which all things which are written may be fulfilled (Lk. 21:22,32).
See A Related article Here from Jack Scott
