Ed Stevens
President of IPA
About IPA:
International Preterist Association (IPA) is a non-profit religious organization devoted to teaching the past fulfillment of Bible Prophecy all over the world through its books, media, podcast, exhibit booth, and website.
IPA set up an exhibit booth at the last twenty-four annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (beginning in 1999), where over two thousand scholars and theologians gather every year to present their latest research. Also exhibited three times at the huge international Christian Booksellers Association expo (New Orleans, Atlanta, Anaheim). Other exhibit booths and book tables were set up at seminars in WI, DE, TX, PA, FL, NJ, NY, NE, CA, NM, OH, IN, MI, NC, MO, and CT. Sponsor for several different seminars in PA, NJ, NY, FL, OH, CA, and MI.
About Ed Stevens:
Ed and his wife Beth have two daughters (Rachel and Leah) and one son (deceased), plus five grandchildren. Long time full preterist (since 1975). Ed is President of International Preterist Association (IPA). Seminary graduate of Sunset International Bible Institute. Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from Adelphi University (1978). Earned Masters degree in Biblical Studies (M.B.S.) from Sunset International Bible Institute (2019).
Preached nine years in Church of Christ congregations in TX, NY, OH and PA. Director and instructor for two years at North East Ohio Bible Institute (Christian leadership school). Pastor of the Reformed Christian Fellowship church in Groveland NY for two years. Spoke at preterist seminars in TX, PA, TN, FL, NJ, NY, NE, CA, NM, OH, MI, NC, IL, CT, and KS. Co-hosted a preterist radio talk show. Interviewed on other Christian radio programs numerous times. Defended preterism in two public oral debates. Three scholarly paper presentations at the regional and national meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Author of six books: What Happened In AD 70? (introduction to the preterist view), Who Do You Say I Am? (defense of the Deity of Christ against Unitarians), Stevens Response To Gentry (written debate on preterist eschatology), Questions About The Afterlife (response to Gary DeMar’s five questions about the Resurrection), Expectations Demand a First Century Rapture, and Final Decade Before the End, plus numerous articles for publication. Defended preterism in two written debates. Reprinted three times J. Stuart Russell’s classic defense of the preterist view, The Parousia. Publisher of other books on biblical eschatology written by Michael Alan Nichols, Ken Davies, Dan Harden, Ian Harding, Tim James, Arthur Melanson, Jessie Mills, Al Pigeon, and others.
Current Activities: Writes a regular column (“Creation to Consummation”) for the quarterly preterist magazine, Fulfilled. Engaged with Don K. Preston in a major written debate on the topic of the First Century Rapture. Working on electronic editions of his previous books. Teaches first century history and biblical theology on his podcast (Then and Now) on the Internet, which is accessible right here on this website.
History of International Preterist Association:
• April 1984 — Started publishing a four-page preterist newsletter called Search the Scriptures. Began publishing preterist books and selling them through our newsletter.
• July 1989 — Changed the name of our newsletter to Kingdom Counsel
• 1990 — Expanded into a full-time publishing ministry called Kingdom Press, along with the quarterly newsletter, Kingdom Counsel.
• December 1997 — Ceased printing the newsletter and started communicating through email and website, with more emphasis on publishing and bookselling work, and began using the publishing name, Kingdom Publications.
• Early 1998 — Changed the name of our publishing ministry to Preterist Resources.
• July 25, 1998 — Tom Joseph, founder of a separate organization and newsletter out in Colorado, with the name, International Preterist Association, emailed us with a wonderful offer to give his mail list and organizational name to us for our use. In his email dated 7/25/98, he said: “I need to ask you a great favor. I am so consumed with my wife’s book and the counseling ministry that I am not giving IPA the time it needs. Through much prayer and thought, I would like to give this ministry over to you, of course that is if you would take it. I thought of no one else that would do it justice like you would. I can give you the large list of names and addresses. You can incorporate it with your newsletter if you so choose. But I would like it to be a separate newsletter if possible. Ed please think about this offer and e-mail or call me.”
• July 26, 1998– The next day, Ed Stevens replied by email, saying, “In the last few months the guys who are unofficially my board of advisors for Kingdom Publications have been brainstorming toward a re-focus of our ministry. We are planning to change the name to reflect our new direction. We are just now in the discussion and idea stages. Nothing has been set in stone yet. So, your offer comes at a very welcome time for us.”
• July 27, 1998 — Tom graciously responded, saying: “I hope you can keep the name IPA, but if you and your board would like to change the name, so be it. I am just proud to be part of the effort. Let us either visit by phone or visit each other in person and start the exchange. I will give you a call soon to arrange business transactions.”
• August 25, 1998 — A few weeks later, Ed emailed Tom about the results of the discussion by Ed’s advisors about the various possibilities for a new name. One adviser thought Kingdom Publications should be renamed International Preterist Ministries (IPM). Another liked International Preterist Association (IPA). Everyone else was happy with either name. Ed decided to honor Tom’s request, and change our name to IPA. In the following weeks, Tom sent his mail list and turned over the IPA name to Ed, and Ed began work on changing the name of Kingdom Publications to International Preterist Association.
• September 8, 1999 — All the legal work was completed, and the new name registered as a non-profit corporation in the state of Pennsylvania. Our website was totally revamped to reflect the name change, and emails were sent out to everyone announcing the name change.
• April 26, 2000 — When someone noticed that Tom was introduced on the LPM message board as the founder of IPA, they were confused. They emailed Ed about it. When this confusion was mentioned to Tom, he graciously replied to Ed with the following statement: “My suggestion concerning IPA, is that I will address myself as the original founder of IPA. I will let everyone know that you have taken the name over and have gone in a different direction with it. I do not have to be on your board at this time, but I sure would like to co-operate with any area we can work together on to build this message. I will not use the name IPA for myself. I will not come back on you for using the name. I hope it does your ministry and business well. Please rest in the fact that I will remove IPA from Solid Rock Ministries and not cause any problems for you in the future.”
• April 27, 2000 — In an email the next day, Ed replied: “I indeed plan to make it clear to everyone that you were the originator of the name IPA and the founder of another ministry that once used that name. I am honored and blessed and proud to do so. At the same time, for clarity sake, we need to also make it clear that you were not the founder of the ministry that NOW wears that name. This is a separate ministry that was in existence over ten years before the IPA name came into existence. I am the founder of the ministry that NOW wears the IPA name.”
• From September 1999 onwards, we have proudly used the IPA name for our preterist teaching and publishing ministry, just as Tom Joseph wished for us to do. We are very grateful to him for giving that name to us.
