Visiting Prabhu K. Das, a Preterist minister in India
By Jaemin Park, MD
I had an honor of visiting Prabhu K Das, a preterist minister in Tenali, AP, India for three weeks in April 2014. Tenali and its neighbor district Guntur in the state of Andhra Pradesh near the coast of Indian Ocean have been visited by many overseas Christian ministries since John Christian Frederick Heyer, the first Lutheran missionary to the state of Andhra Pradesh, founded Guntur mission in 1842. Prabhu K Das himself hails from a 3rd generation Christian family, of Church of Christ background.
I had an honor of visiting Prabhu K Das, a preterist minister in Tenali, AP, India for three weeks in April 2014. Tenali and its neighbor district Guntur in the state of Andhra Pradesh near the coast of Indian Ocean have been visited by many overseas Christian ministries since John Christian Frederick Heyer, the first Lutheran missionary to the state of Andhra Pradesh, founded Guntur mission in 1842. Prabhu K Das himself hails from a 3rd generation Christian family, of Church of Christ background.
He studied under the late Dr.Victor D Thuraka D.D., Dean of Bear Valley Bible School, Tenali. (Figure 1) Dr.Thuraka was the first Indian to bring preterism to India. Dr.Thuraka was exposed to preterist idea during his study in the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, where he attended the Max King and Beagle’s lectureship at Freed Hardman lectures in 1972. From Dr.Thuraka, Prabhu K Das learned preterist view, along with many others who studied under him. Prabhu K Das had a leading role spreading the full Preterist message and in conducting annual Indian preterist conference from year 2006 to 2009. He is also an author of “Second Coming of Christ- Past? Present? Or Future?”(2012), “Melchezedek Order” (2013) making himself the first published preterist author in India. Prabhu K Das has been active on Facebook preterist groups and I got in touch with him from one of the groups. I recently finished my medical studies and saw that it would be a great opportunity to meet Prabhu K Das and other preterists in India as well as dedicate my time to help the poor until my residency training in July.
For many of us in the United States, travel all the way to India sounds daunting. Besides the travel cost, we are intimidated by the unknown: the foreign land, culture, language, food, safety, sanitation, disease, etc. Yes, visiting India can be challenging, but it is easier and information is more accessible than ever before with the advent of internet and many travel sites such as TripAdvisor, WikiTravel, and travel books such as Lonely Planet. Prabhu K Das’s hometown, Tenali is a rural town in not so well known part of southern India. The biggest concern to me was its location in malaria belt. Malaria epidemic is common, in the south and central India, due to the region’s humidity. Prabhu K Das assured me that malaria is only prevalent during the monsoon season from July to September. Another concern was the lodging and sanitation, but Prabhu K Das also assured me that this will be taken care of, and he did with the help of Bishop John Victor Kishore, who is a Pentecostal minister in the same town and a friend of Prabhu K Das.
The lodging I stayed in during the three weeks in Tenali was a two bedroom flat with a spacious living room and a kitchen on the second floor of a gated apartment building. (Figure 2) Physical comfort was very well taken care of, with home cooked food delivered to me every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only problem was the weather, scorching heat in the morning and afternoon. It was necessary to wear sunscreen before every outing, and I preferred to stay home and rest until 4 pm when the sunlight was not very strong.
The lodging I stayed in during the three weeks in Tenali was a two bedroom flat with a spacious living room and a kitchen on the second floor of a gated apartment building. (Figure 2) Physical comfort was very well taken care of, with home cooked food delivered to me every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only problem was the weather, scorching heat in the morning and afternoon. It was necessary to wear sunscreen before every outing, and I preferred to stay home and rest until 4 pm when the sunlight was not very strong.
As anywhere else in the world, preterists are few in number. In a country like India where Hindus are the majority, the number of preterists is even fewer than what you would see in the United States. However, in Tenali there is a large Christian presence and there are many congregations in the surrounding area who would like to hear about the preterist message. Prabhu K Das has traveled extensively in the state of Andhra Pradesh as a visiting speaker introducing many to the preterist view. I attended one such meeting in the city of Ponnur, 35 km away from Tenali. Prabhu K Das visited a local congregation, approximately 20 people, and gave a lecture series on the Parables of Jesus from a first century historical context. Preterism is still very new to many in India and in a country with many different religions the positive message of preterism is appealing to many. One among the congregation was a man who used to be a Muslim. End times doctrine is also a big part of Islamic faith and the fatalism of fundamental Islam could be attributed to the same eschatology of our Christian faith. Everything made sense once he embraced preterist view, and he was one of the most enthusiastic students in the congregation during my visit.(Figure 3) The Bible study was followed by lunch.(Figure 4) It’s a common practice in this region for congregations to eat together meals prepared by individual church members. Prabhu K Das spends most of time as a visiting speaker and spends the rest of time with research. (Figure 5) Holding a preterist meet like the one I attended in Ponnur comes with many challenges and hurdles that are unimaginable in the United States. Law in India prohibits preaching within 100 m of a Hindu temple ground. This is one of the few challenges that Indian Christians face, especially in big and dense cities such as Bangalore. India is a country of temples and you can find a temple within 100 m of each other anywhere you go. There are few public places available for gathering. As a result, many Christians hold meetings privately, most often within someone’s house or shop. India is a Hindu country with a Muslim minority and even smaller Christian minority. Christianity is popular among those of lower social standing, lower caste groups. Since there’s no evangelism in Hinduism, people who live in the slums are only visited by Christians, and many converts are found among these. As a result, a majority of Christians in India are poorly educated and have little spending power and social influence compared to other religious groups.
For these reasons, evangelical Christianity had great success among the poor in Tenali and other rural parts of southern India. Many Indians who become Christians are those who belong to the lower strata of Indian society. Although the literacy rate is higher in southern India than other parts of the country, few of them obtain higher education. Pentecostal healing ministries are very popular, especially in rural villages. Preterist study is not very suitable for those who are barely literate and are burdened with making ends meet. Few among Indian Christians are suitable audiences of preterist view. Other hurdles to preterism include the inaccessibility of information. Few people in this country can afford internet at their fingertip. As a result, preterism can only spread by books and word of mouth. Lack of big bookstores or libraries in the rural towns also limit spread of preterist ideas. Even if such books were available on the shelves in bookstores, few will be able to afford them. Books in India generally cost from 50 INR to 300 INR, roughly US$1 to 6. Titles that cost US$15 to 30 are beyond the reach of many. Even if these books are available via Amazon, the shipping cost alone would be too much for these people to handle. Few Christian preachers know and are willing to preach preterism, for similar reasons as those pastors in the United States whose church leadership is not agreeable to the preterist view. These are some of the challenges and the reasons why preterism is still very new to India. Prabhu K Das is among those few preterist ministers in India who dare to face the hostility from Hindus and other Christians who view preterism as heresy. One need not be reminded of recent massacre of Christians in Kandhamal district of Orissa in 2008 and Subrahmaniam in 2010 to realize the magnitude of dangers one would face as a Christian and a preterist minister in India.
In 2006, Prabhu K Das hosted the first annual Indian preterist meet. This meeting included 238 guests including pastors from all major denominations and preachers from many different parts of the State. This meeting was also attended by some overseas guests including Rodney Smith and Tedd Carol who are active in preterist movement in Australia. The meeting was hosted at a cost of around 40 thousand INR(US$800) and continued until year 2009 due to lack of sufficient funds. The topics of this meet included: second coming, the judgment, how to understand the last days events?, what are the last days? Of the planet or what? The new heavens & new earth among many topics. With few overseas speakers with reputable background, these meets really have the potential to spread the idea of preterism to many parts of India. As mentioned earlier, the problem in this country is the accessibility of information. These meetings, with good selection of speakers and audiences, can really serve as the source of ideas and knowledge to many in different parts of this country who do not have luxury to access of information that we take for granted. Due to this unique barrier to information, the role such a meeting can play a in a country like India is unparalleled in its significance compared to such meetings in other countries.
One can question how relevant preterist message can be in a country of one billion where 11.8% of its people live under the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.[1] During my stay in Tenali, I visited many surrounding slum villages where people had no access to clean drinking water and had to resort to living next to streams filled with sewage water and garbages.(Figure 6) Some of these makeshift houses are washed away during monsoon season, forcing these people to relocate. For people to whom soap is a luxury, who seldom eat more than a small handful grain of rice if lucky, what can preterist message do for these people? Even to those people who live in better living conditions, preterism can be a very abstract idea with no real relevance or impact to daily life. I believe, in a country such as this, preterist and Christian ministers have a greater role than spiritual one alone. This means, for those people who can afford, to share whatever little you can with others. Abstract ideas and complex hermeneutics will not suffice, if people truly want to reach out to those in need. Connecting preterist message to the real needs of people, that is the task assigned to our generation of young preterists.
One can question how relevant preterist message can be in a country of one billion where 11.8% of its people live under the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.[1] During my stay in Tenali, I visited many surrounding slum villages where people had no access to clean drinking water and had to resort to living next to streams filled with sewage water and garbages.(Figure 6) Some of these makeshift houses are washed away during monsoon season, forcing these people to relocate. For people to whom soap is a luxury, who seldom eat more than a small handful grain of rice if lucky, what can preterist message do for these people? Even to those people who live in better living conditions, preterism can be a very abstract idea with no real relevance or impact to daily life. I believe, in a country such as this, preterist and Christian ministers have a greater role than spiritual one alone. This means, for those people who can afford, to share whatever little you can with others. Abstract ideas and complex hermeneutics will not suffice, if people truly want to reach out to those in need. Connecting preterist message to the real needs of people, that is the task assigned to our generation of young preterists.
Jaemin Park, MD is a resident physician at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He first learned about preterism from Transmillenial® 2000. He continues independent study of preterism and involves himself in humanitarian works.
[1] “India – New Global Poverty Estimates”. World Bank
About Prabhu Das
K Prabhu Das, aged 34 is a Gospel Minister and Social Worker, given completely for the Gospel message of God's love, having an assignment to work among the poor. He edits & publishes a bi-lingual monthly magazine, titled ‘WORDS OF TRUTH’ written few tracts on pertinent issues and initiator of the Annual Indian Preterist Meet, since 2006 and also authored two books from a preterist prespective. He has been a Preterist for more than 14+ years now! At very young age, he has been exposed to fulfilled bible Prophecy and gradually taken the charge over ministry and become an instructor at Bear Valley Bible School, in Tenali. Now he runs his own ministry, despise many troubles, hardships in his ongoing ministry, his faithful stand and passion for ministry couldn’t overtake his obsession for the preaching Lords completed salvation. Whether this busted out in expulsion from the Church fellowship, lost his support or even faced hostile behaviors towards him. He always Praise lord, for still holding him strong.
Prabhu Das has experience and credited to work with the pioneers of Churches of Christ, who laid the foundation in preaching Preterism to Indians. He strongly believes that with the little co-operation from the Preterist community, again, we can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6)!
Last year, he was interviewed (online) by (the author or ‘Misplace Hope’) Sam Frost; interview can be read online at :-
http://thereignofchrist.com/preterists-around-the-world-india/
where you can know more about the Lords Work that he is doing in India.
Please Remember Prabhu and His Family In Your Prayers!
— Dayakar Karumanchi, Software Engineer, USA
Prabhu Das has experience and credited to work with the pioneers of Churches of Christ, who laid the foundation in preaching Preterism to Indians. He strongly believes that with the little co-operation from the Preterist community, again, we can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6)!
Last year, he was interviewed (online) by (the author or ‘Misplace Hope’) Sam Frost; interview can be read online at :-
http://thereignofchrist.com/preterists-around-the-world-india/
where you can know more about the Lords Work that he is doing in India.
Please Remember Prabhu and His Family In Your Prayers!
— Dayakar Karumanchi, Software Engineer, USA