The Death of Adam / The Life of Christ: Determining the Nature of the Resurrection

by Don K. Preston

The eschatological resurrection is posited as the solution to the "Death of Adam" i.e. the Death that came into the world the very day that Adam sinned. So, what was that death? The majority of believers say it was physical death. But, there is a massive and fatal problem here. God said "In the day that you eat...you shall surely die." Did Adam die physically the very day he sinned? Clearly not! So, did God lie? Was God unable to carry through with the threat? No, Adam and Eve did die, and they died the very day they ate the forbidden fruit. How so? They died spiritually, by losing the precious fellowship with God and living in the Garden. They were separated from a loving God. This is the essence, the reality, of the Death of Adam!

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2019

About the author

1968 Graduate of Elkins High School outside Fayetteville, Arkansas.

1975 graduate of the Northside school of preaching, (seminary) Harrison, Arkansas.

Don’s preaching ministry spans 35 years in only two different cities, Shawnee, Oklahoma and Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Don worked for 7 years helping produce a television program Christian magazine which received national recognition in the magazine, Christianity Today.

Don has written several books, including: 2 Peter 3: The Late Great Kingdom, reprinted now under the title of the Elements Shall Melt with Fervent Heat; Who is This Babylon? (Second Edition), Like Father Like Son, on Clouds of Glory, Into All The World Then Comes The End, The Last Days Identified, Seal Up Vision and Prophecy, Can God Tell Time?, Israel: 1948, Countdown To No Where, Blast From The Past: The Truth About Armageddon, Leaving the Rapture Behind, Seventy Weeks are Determined...for the Resurrection; How Is This Possible (third reprint, revised and enlarged, 2009). Some of Preston's works have been translated into six different languages, and reprinted several times.

Don’s book, Who is this Babylon?, A Study of Revelation, has received critical acclaim. He is currently at work on several other manuscripts including books on the(supposed) rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, the Transfiguration, the parables of Jesus, the Olivet Discourse, the significance of circumcision in New Testament eschatology, the Song of Moses and eschatology, and others.

Don's 2010 book, We Shall Meet Him In The Air: The Wedding of the King of kings, is the very first, and only, full length commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4 from the preterist (fulfilled) perspective.

Preston’s writings have appeared in almost every major religious periodical of the churches of Christ.

Mr. Preston is an experienced debater, and has participated in several formal public debates as well as radio debates. his opponents include some of the leading evangelical leaders of the day, including:

Thomas Ice, co-founder with Tim Lahaye, of the Pre-Trib Research Center,
Harold Hoehner of Dallas Theological Seminary,
Dr. David Engelsma of Reformed Theological Seminary,
C. Marvin Pate of Moody College,
Dr. F. Lagard Smith, and other notable theologians.

He has participated in live interviews on such christian talk shows as “Salt and Light” in St. Louis, Missouri. Preston is also co-host, with William Bell, of a radio program each Tuesday evening, 6 PM central time, called "Two Guys and the Bible." The program can be heard live at ad70.net.

Mr. Preston‘s web address is www.eschatology.org. In addition to this website, Mr. Preston is also the personal owner of www.bibleprophecy.com, one of the top rated sites for the study of prophecy.

The websites contain many articles written by Don and other writers from around the country. They welcome open discussion and study.

Don served as minister for the Ardmore church of Christ, for 16 years. He resigned in order to devote himself full time to research writing, seminars and debates.

Hobbies include collecting and restoring old cars, especially early mustangs, and old pickups; fishing, hunting, internet research, reading, etc.

Reviews

[Richard LaLonde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a bit unconventional and even labeled as heterodoxical, Preston’s exegetical investigation of eschatological death/resurrection is impressive and Christocentric. I hope that Christians would be open to reexamine their position and identify their inconsistencies with Scripture’s use of Scripture.

[Jarmo Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Don K. Preston explores the nature of the resurrection and the nature of Adam's death at the fall. Did God bring a threat of physical death? or was it a spiritual death that would happen if he ate of the tree, a break in the relationship between God and man? Preston shows in a great way how everything points to a spiritual separation in the relationship between God and man and thus a spiritual but at the same time a real resurrection in Christ. He turns over every stone and shows some of the contradictions it will imply in the very core of the Gospel, and in other areas of the scriptures if one believes that it was a physical death that was in question at the fall of Adam.

Don K. Preston also mentions the cases where Paul speaks of death, especially those in connection and in contrast with Adam, that he usually speaks of a spiritual death rather than a physical one. Preston also brings out some contradictory arguments from, among others former preterist Sam Frost, and how his arguments leads to confusion and contradiction when he tries to "correct" his "past mistakes". We also see how Sam Frost is on dangerous ground when it comes to the core of the gospel where he departs in an extreme way from the view of the spiritual death and the substitutionary death of Jesus.

Don K. Preston is a skilled expositor of the Bible when it comes to the topic of eschatology and as a defender of what he calls Covenant Eschatology. To get the most out of the book, I've noticed, it's a good idea to have a Bible next to you to look up the scriptures he mentions, especially those he don't quote in the book. Furthermore, there is also a lot of repetition in this on, as in his other books, and the structure becomes a bit medicore when you get to the last part of the book. Despite this, I like the way he writes, uses the Bible and argues for his view, even if I occasionally have to read a sentence or paragraph several times with my tongue more straight in my mouth to grasp what he really mean. Not the best of Preston's books, but still a book about a important area in the preterism debate.

[Donna Sinclair/Mark Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something new

I'm not a bible scholar as such, whatever that term means within christendom, I'm simply a very thirsty believer who wants more of Christ's resurrected life within his own life.
Therefore, this book and others like it have been my staple diet lately, this book has tied together alot of loose ends, give me a stirring to my inner man and been what I believe to be a vital pointer from God as to the direction to go. I haven't been able to grasp all the points I've read, but I've grasped enough to make me thirst for more.
Buy this book if end times study has never worked for you, it might be your saving grace.