Preterism
Encyclopedia
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view
that interprets prophecies of the Bible
, especially Daniel
and Revelation
, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D
. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment
in the Christian church
at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70
. The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which is listed in Webster's 1913 dictionary as a prefix denoting that something is "past" or "beyond," signifying that either all or a majority of Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70. Adherents of preterism are commonly known as preterists.
There has historically been general agreement that the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy was written by the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar during the Counter Reformation. Moses Stuart
noted that Alcasar's preterist interpretation was of considerable benefit to the Roman Catholic Church during its arguments with Protestants, and preterism has been described in modern eschatological commentary as a Catholic defense against the Protestant Historicist view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a persecuting apostasy
.
Due to resistance by Protestant Historicists, the preterist view was slow to gain acceptance outside the Roman Catholic Church. Among Protestants it was first accepted by Hugo Grotius
, a Dutch Protestant eager to establish common ground between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church. His first attempt to do this was entitled ‘Commentary on Certain Texts Which Deal with Antichrist’ (1640), in which he attempted to argue that the texts relating to Antichrist
had their fulfillment in the 1st century AD. This was not well received by Protestants, but Grotius was undeterred and in his next work ‘Commentaries On The New Testament' (1641-1650), he expanded his preterist views to include the Olivet prophecy
and Revelation
.
Preterism still struggled to gain credibility within other Protestant countries, especially England. The English commentator Thomas Hayne
claimed that the prophecies of the Book of Daniel
had all been fulfilled by the 1st century (‘Christs Kingdom on Earth’, 1645), and Joseph Hall expressed the same conclusion concerning Daniel’s prophecies (‘The Revelation Unrevealed’, 1650), but neither of them applied their preterist views to Revelation. However, the exposition of Grotius convinced the Englishman Henry Hammond
. Hammond sympathized with Grotius’ desire for unity among Christians, and found his preterist exposition useful to this end. Hammond wrote his own preterist exposition in 1653, borrowing extensively from Grotius. In his introduction to Revelation he claimed that others had independently arrived at similar conclusions as himself, though he gives pride of place to Grotius. Hammond was Grotius’ only notable Protestant convert, and despite his reputation and influence, Grotius’ interpretation of Revelation was overwhelmingly rejected by Protestants and gained no ground for at least 100 years.
By the end of the 18th century preterist exposition had gradually become more widespread. The first full preterist exposition was finally written in 1730 by the Swiss Protestant and Arian, Firmin Abauzit (‘Essai sur l'Apocalypse’). This was part of a growing development of more systematic preterist expositions of Revelation. Later, though, it appears that Abauzit recanted this approach after a critical examination by his English translator, Dr. Twells.
The earliest American full preterist work was 'The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Past Event', which was written in 1845 by Robert Townley. Townley later recanted this view.
Some partial preterists prefer to call their position orthodox preterism, thus contrasting their agreement with the creeds of the Ecumenical Councils with what they perceive to be the full preterists' rejection of the same. This, in effect, makes full preterism unorthodox in the eyes of partial preterists and gives rise to the claim by some that full preterism is heretical. (Partial preterism is also sometimes called classical preterism or moderate preterism.)
On the other hand, some full preterists prefer to call their position consistent preterism, reflecting their extension of preterism to all biblical prophecy and thus claiming an inconsistency in the partial preterist hermeneutic. Partial preterists may be considered heterodox because they advocate, in effect, two Second Coming
s, one at A.D. 70
and another at the end of the age
. Full preterists, in contrast, conform to the creeds, allowing only one Second Coming.
Sub-variants of preterism include one form of partial preterism which places fulfillment of some eschatological passages in the first three centuries of the current era, culminating in the fall of Rome. In addition, certain statements from classical theological liberalism are easily mistaken for preterism, as they hold that the biblical record accurately reflects Jesus' and the Apostles' belief that all prophecy was to be fulfilled within their generation. Theological liberalism generally regards these apocalyptic expectations as being errant or mistaken, however, so this view cannot accurately be considered a form of preterism.
as a "judgment-coming" of Christ were fulfilled in A.D. 70
when the Roman
general (and future Emperor) Titus
sacked Jerusalem
and destroyed the Jewish Temple
, putting a permanent stop to the daily animal sacrifices
. It identifies "Babylon the Great
" (Revelation 17-18) with the ancient pagan City of Rome
, or even the city of Jerusalem
. Some adherents of partial preterism see the Emperor Diocletian as the fulfillment of the "little horn" prophecy of Daniel 7. But this is a minority view. The great majority of partial preterists believe that Jerusalem was a "great harlot" destroyed by God in AD 70.
Most partial preterists also believe that the term Last Days refers not to the last days of planet Earth, or the last days of humankind, but rather to the last days of the Mosaic Covenant
, which God held exclusively with the nation of Israel
(including biblical proselytes) until the year AD 70. (see also New Covenant
and the parables of the barren fig tree
and budding fig tree
). For more information on this subject, see Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
. The "Last Days", however, are to be distinguished from the "Last Day", which is considered to still be in the future and entailing the last coming
of Jesus
, the Resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous dead
physically from the grave in like manner to Jesus' physical resurrection
, the Final Judgment
, and the creation of a literal, non-covenantal New Heaven and New Earth free from the curse of sin and death which was occasioned by the fall of Adam and Eve
.
Thus partial preterists are in agreement and conformity with the historic ecumenical creeds of the Church and articulate the doctrine of the resurrection held by the early Church Fathers
. Partial preterists hold that the New Testament
predicts and depicts many "comings" of Christ. They contend that the phrase Second Coming
means the second of a like kind in a series, for the Scriptures record other "comings" of God even before Jesus' judgment in AD 70.
This would eliminate the AD 70 event as the "second" of any series, let alone the second of a series in which the earthly, physical ministry of Christ
is the first. Partial preterists believe that the new creation comes in redemptive progression as Christ reigns from His heavenly throne, subjugating His enemies, and will eventually culminate in the destruction of the "last enemy", i.e., physical death (1 Cor 15:20-24). In the partial preterist paradigm, since enemies of Christ still exist, the resurrection event cannot have already occurred.
Nearly all partial preterists hold to amillennialism
or postmillennialism
. Some postmillennial partial preterists, as proposed by the late author David Chilton, are also theonomic
in their outlook. Partial preterists typically accept the authority of the Creed
s on the basis that they believe that the Creed
s are in conformity with what the Scriptures teach.
Despite being separated from the eschatological disputes of the West, the eschatological view historically held by the Eastern
and Oriental Orthodox Church
es is that of the amillennialist
Partial preterists although these Churches may not explicitly state this as their position.
and Jesus' Second Coming
or Parousia. Full preterism is also known by several other names: preterism (because the term itself means "past"), consistent preterism, true preterism, hyper-preterism (a pejorative term used by opponents of preterists), and Pantelism
. (The term pantelism comes from two Greek roots: παν (pan), "everything", and τελ- (tel-), referring to completion—another attempted pejorative label that never caught on).
Full preterism holds that Jesus' Second Coming is to be viewed not as a future bodily return, but rather a "return" in glory manifested by the physical destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple in A.D. 70
by foreign armies in a manner similar to various Old Testament
descriptions of God coming to destroy other nations in righteous judgment. Full preterism also holds that the Resurrection of the Dead did not entail the raising of the physical body but rather the resurrection of the soul from the "place of the dead", known as Sheol
(Hebrew) or Hades
(Greek) and that both the living and the dead were raised, changed, caught away and glorified together into one/corporate matured New Covenant
Body of Christ
.
Some versions of full preterism teach that the righteous dead obtained an individual spiritual and substantial body for use in the heavenly realm, and the unrighteous dead were cast into the Lake of Fire
. Some full preterists believe that this judgment is ongoing and that it takes effect upon the death of each individual (Heb. 9:27).
Other full preterists believe that because the Book of Revelation was signified (or "symbolized", according to its first verse, Revelation 1:1), the Lake of Fire was only AD 70s Gehenna
(Jerusalem's garbage dump, not Hell) as it burned. Moreover, this burning was just aionios (pertaining to an age), not eternal. The hermeneutic of audience relevance confines this judgment and punishment to the 1st century AD.
The New Heaven and the New Earth are also equated with the New Covenant and the Fulfillment of the Law in AD 70 and are to be viewed in the same manner by which a Christian is considered a "new creation" upon his or her conversion.
Full preterists typically reject the authority of the Creed
s to condemn their view, stating that the Creeds were written by uninspired and fallible men and that appeals should be made instead to the Scriptures themselves (sola scriptura
).
Within the camp of full preterism, there are also some who see all the covenants and prophecies in scripture to have pertained exclusively to a chosen remnant of "Israelites according to the flesh" (Romans 9:3-5) since the "new covenant" promise explicitly named only "the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (i.e. the Twelve Tribes of fleshly Israel) as its intended benefactors (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and Jesus Christ claimed he was sent "only" to "Israel" (Matthew 15:24). Along this line, it is also understood that "all Israel" was completely redeemed at the AD 70 parousia (Romans 11:25-26) when there was a physical resurrection of the living and the dead for the final judgement and rewards (Matthew 16:27-28; 1 Thessalians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:11-15). Therefore, the only true Christian Church was taken to be with the Lord in AD 70, and there is no on-going fulfillment, application, or appropriation of any of God's redemptive purpose for any other people after that time.
It should also be noted that a fundamental tenet of this Israel-exclusive version of full preterism is the interpretation of the word "Gentiles" in scripture as a translation of the Hebrew (GOYIM) and Greek (ethne) words for "nations" that were commonly used of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the original biblical covenants and promises (Genesis 17:5-8; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 48:19-20; Acts 2:5-11). Thus, both "Jews and Gentiles" mentioned in the New Testament scriptures (Romans 1:16-17; 3:9-29) were actually physical descendants of "Abraham" who was the "forefather according to the flesh" (Romans 4:1) of them "all" (Romans 4:11).
. Additionally, concerns are expressed by Dispensationalists that partial preterism logically leads to an acceptance of full preterism, a concern which is denied by partial preterists.
Full preterism is sometimes viewed as heretical, based upon the historic creeds of the church (which would exclude this view), and also from Biblical passages that condemn a past view of the Resurrection or the denial of a physical resurrection or transformation of the body — doctrines which most Christians believe to be essential to the faith. Critics of full preterism point to the Apostle Paul
's condemnation of the doctrine of Hymenaeus
and Philetus
, which they regard as analogous to full preterism. Adherents of full preterism, however, dispute this assertion by pointing out that Paul's condemnation was written during a time in which the Resurrection was still in the future (i.e., pre-A.D. 70
). Their critics assert that if the Resurrection has not yet happened, then the condemnation would still apply.
during the end stages of the First Jewish–Roman War, and it only affected the Jewish people rather than all mankind.
Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah
. It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 AD when the armed forces of the Roman Empire
destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the Apocalypse
or Book of Revelation. (Preterists apply much of the symbolism in the Revelation to Rome, the Cæsars
, and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.)
Jesus' warning in that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" is tied back to his similar warning to the Scribes
and the Pharisees
that their judgment would "come upon this generation" , that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the Scribes and Pharisees had passed from the scene. The destruction in 70 AD occurred within a 40-year generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse.
The judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" , which Luke presented to his Gentile audience, unfamiliar with Daniel, as "armies" surrounding Jerusalem to cause its "desolation." (Luke 21:20)
Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem Temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built. The prophecies were all fulfilled on the then-existing temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation.
This predicted event has been variously interpreted as referring to: (1) Jesus' transfiguration; (2) his resurrection; (3) the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost; (4) the spread of the kingdom through the preaching of the early church; (5) the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD 70; or (6) the second coming and final establishment of the kingdom. View (6) is unacceptable to many preterists because it implies that Jesus was mistaken about the timing of his return. Many preterists believe the immediate context seems to indicate the first view, the transfiguration, which immediately follows . This view seems to satisfy that "some" disciples would see the glory of the Son of Man, but it does not satisfy that "he will repay every man for what he has done." the same situation occurs with views (2) through (4). Only view (5) of the judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70 appears to satisfy both conditions (reinforced with ), as a preterist would argue.
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
that interprets prophecies of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, especially Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
and Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D
Christianity in the 1st century
The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic, Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity. The Apostles and others following the Great Commission's decree to spread the teachings of Jesus to "all nations," had great success spreading the religion to gentiles. Peter,...
. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment
Supersessionism
Supersessionism is a term for the dominant Christian view of the Old Covenant, also called fulfillment theology and replacement theology, though the latter term is disputed...
in the Christian church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
. The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which is listed in Webster's 1913 dictionary as a prefix denoting that something is "past" or "beyond," signifying that either all or a majority of Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70. Adherents of preterism are commonly known as preterists.
History of preterism
Proponents of preterism sometimes argue that this position was the original eschatological understanding of the Early Christian church, a claim contested by historicists and futurists. One preterist has been said to hold that the view was developed in the 17th century, a view also held by many non-preterists.There has historically been general agreement that the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy was written by the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar during the Counter Reformation. Moses Stuart
Moses Stuart
Moses Stuart , an American biblical scholar, was born in Wilton, Connecticut.-Life and career:He was reared on a farm graduating with highest honours at Yale in 1799; in 1802 he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and was appointed as a tutor at Yale, where he remained for two years...
noted that Alcasar's preterist interpretation was of considerable benefit to the Roman Catholic Church during its arguments with Protestants, and preterism has been described in modern eschatological commentary as a Catholic defense against the Protestant Historicist view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a persecuting apostasy
Great Apostasy
The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...
.
Due to resistance by Protestant Historicists, the preterist view was slow to gain acceptance outside the Roman Catholic Church. Among Protestants it was first accepted by Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
, a Dutch Protestant eager to establish common ground between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church. His first attempt to do this was entitled ‘Commentary on Certain Texts Which Deal with Antichrist’ (1640), in which he attempted to argue that the texts relating to Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
had their fulfillment in the 1st century AD. This was not well received by Protestants, but Grotius was undeterred and in his next work ‘Commentaries On The New Testament' (1641-1650), he expanded his preterist views to include the Olivet prophecy
Olivet discourse
The Olivet discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage found in the Synoptic Gospels of Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes Jesus' descriptions of the end times, the use of apocalyptic language, and Jesus' warning to his followers that...
and Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
.
Preterism still struggled to gain credibility within other Protestant countries, especially England. The English commentator Thomas Hayne
Thomas Hayne
-Life:The son of Robert Hayne of Thrussington, Leicestershire, he matriculated from Lincoln College, Oxford, on 12 October 1599. He was admitted B.A. on 23 January 1605, was appointed second under-master of Merchant Taylors' School, London, in the same year, became usher at Christ's Hospital in...
claimed that the prophecies of the Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
had all been fulfilled by the 1st century (‘Christs Kingdom on Earth’, 1645), and Joseph Hall expressed the same conclusion concerning Daniel’s prophecies (‘The Revelation Unrevealed’, 1650), but neither of them applied their preterist views to Revelation. However, the exposition of Grotius convinced the Englishman Henry Hammond
Henry Hammond
Henry Hammond was an English churchman.-Early life:He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond, physician. He was educated at Eton College, and from age 13 at Magdalen College, Oxford, becoming demy or scholar in 1619. On 11 December 1622 he graduated B.A....
. Hammond sympathized with Grotius’ desire for unity among Christians, and found his preterist exposition useful to this end. Hammond wrote his own preterist exposition in 1653, borrowing extensively from Grotius. In his introduction to Revelation he claimed that others had independently arrived at similar conclusions as himself, though he gives pride of place to Grotius. Hammond was Grotius’ only notable Protestant convert, and despite his reputation and influence, Grotius’ interpretation of Revelation was overwhelmingly rejected by Protestants and gained no ground for at least 100 years.
By the end of the 18th century preterist exposition had gradually become more widespread. The first full preterist exposition was finally written in 1730 by the Swiss Protestant and Arian, Firmin Abauzit (‘Essai sur l'Apocalypse’). This was part of a growing development of more systematic preterist expositions of Revelation. Later, though, it appears that Abauzit recanted this approach after a critical examination by his English translator, Dr. Twells.
The earliest American full preterist work was 'The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Past Event', which was written in 1845 by Robert Townley. Townley later recanted this view.
Schools of preterist thought
The two principal schools of preterist thought are commonly called partial preterism and full preterism. Preterists disagree significantly about the exact meaning of the terms used to denote these divisions of preterist thought.Some partial preterists prefer to call their position orthodox preterism, thus contrasting their agreement with the creeds of the Ecumenical Councils with what they perceive to be the full preterists' rejection of the same. This, in effect, makes full preterism unorthodox in the eyes of partial preterists and gives rise to the claim by some that full preterism is heretical. (Partial preterism is also sometimes called classical preterism or moderate preterism.)
On the other hand, some full preterists prefer to call their position consistent preterism, reflecting their extension of preterism to all biblical prophecy and thus claiming an inconsistency in the partial preterist hermeneutic. Partial preterists may be considered heterodox because they advocate, in effect, two Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
s, one at A.D. 70
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
and another at the end of the age
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
. Full preterists, in contrast, conform to the creeds, allowing only one Second Coming.
Sub-variants of preterism include one form of partial preterism which places fulfillment of some eschatological passages in the first three centuries of the current era, culminating in the fall of Rome. In addition, certain statements from classical theological liberalism are easily mistaken for preterism, as they hold that the biblical record accurately reflects Jesus' and the Apostles' belief that all prophecy was to be fulfilled within their generation. Theological liberalism generally regards these apocalyptic expectations as being errant or mistaken, however, so this view cannot accurately be considered a form of preterism.
Partial preterism
Partial preterism holds that prophecies such as the destruction of Jerusalem, the Antichrists, the Great Tribulation, and the advent of the Day of the LordThe Day of the Lord
The Day of the Lord is a Biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. A related expression is the Great Day as in "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." which appears in both Old and...
as a "judgment-coming" of Christ were fulfilled in A.D. 70
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
when the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
general (and future Emperor) Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
sacked Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
and destroyed the Jewish Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
, putting a permanent stop to the daily animal sacrifices
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
. It identifies "Babylon the Great
Babylon (New Testament)
Babylon occurs in the Christian New Testament both with a literal and a figurative meaning. The famous ancient city, located near Baghdad, was a complete unpopulated ruin by 275 BC, well before the time of the New Testament...
" (Revelation 17-18) with the ancient pagan City of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, or even the city of Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
. Some adherents of partial preterism see the Emperor Diocletian as the fulfillment of the "little horn" prophecy of Daniel 7. But this is a minority view. The great majority of partial preterists believe that Jerusalem was a "great harlot" destroyed by God in AD 70.
Most partial preterists also believe that the term Last Days refers not to the last days of planet Earth, or the last days of humankind, but rather to the last days of the Mosaic Covenant
Mosaic Covenant
The Mosaic Covenant or Sinaitic Covenant are terms used for the biblical covenant between God and the Israelites...
, which God held exclusively with the nation of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(including biblical proselytes) until the year AD 70. (see also New Covenant
New Covenant
The New Covenant is a concept originally derived from the Hebrew Bible. The term "New Covenant" is used in the Bible to refer to an epochal relationship of restoration and peace following a period of trial and judgment...
and the parables of the barren fig tree
Parable of the barren fig tree
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree is a parable of Jesus which appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament...
and budding fig tree
Parable of the budding fig tree
The Parable of the Budding Fig Tree is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, found in Matthew , Mark , and Luke . This parable, about the Kingdom of God, involves a fig tree, as does the equally brief parable of the barren fig tree, with which it should not be confused.-Narrative:According...
). For more information on this subject, see Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
While many Christian theology systems reflect the view that at least some Mosaic laws have been set aside under the New Covenant, there are some theology systems that view the entire Mosaic or Old Covenant as abrogated in that all of the Mosaic laws are set aside for the Law of Christ...
. The "Last Days", however, are to be distinguished from the "Last Day", which is considered to still be in the future and entailing the last coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the Resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
physically from the grave in like manner to Jesus' physical resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
, the Final Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
, and the creation of a literal, non-covenantal New Heaven and New Earth free from the curse of sin and death which was occasioned by the fall of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
.
Thus partial preterists are in agreement and conformity with the historic ecumenical creeds of the Church and articulate the doctrine of the resurrection held by the early Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
. Partial preterists hold that the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
predicts and depicts many "comings" of Christ. They contend that the phrase Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
means the second of a like kind in a series, for the Scriptures record other "comings" of God even before Jesus' judgment in AD 70.
This would eliminate the AD 70 event as the "second" of any series, let alone the second of a series in which the earthly, physical ministry of Christ
Ministry of Jesus
In the Christian gospels, the Ministry of Jesus begins with his Baptism in the countryside of Judea, near the River Jordan and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples. The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry...
is the first. Partial preterists believe that the new creation comes in redemptive progression as Christ reigns from His heavenly throne, subjugating His enemies, and will eventually culminate in the destruction of the "last enemy", i.e., physical death (1 Cor 15:20-24). In the partial preterist paradigm, since enemies of Christ still exist, the resurrection event cannot have already occurred.
Nearly all partial preterists hold to amillennialism
Amillennialism
Amillennialism is a view in Christian end-times theology named for its rejection of the theory that Jesus Christ will have a thousand-year long, physical reign on the earth...
or postmillennialism
Postmillennialism
In Christian end-times theology, , postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper...
. Some postmillennial partial preterists, as proposed by the late author David Chilton, are also theonomic
Theonomy
Theonomy is a theory in Christian theology that God is the sole source of human ethics. The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy"...
in their outlook. Partial preterists typically accept the authority of the Creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
s on the basis that they believe that the Creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
s are in conformity with what the Scriptures teach.
Despite being separated from the eschatological disputes of the West, the eschatological view historically held by the Eastern
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and Oriental Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
es is that of the amillennialist
Amillennialism
Amillennialism is a view in Christian end-times theology named for its rejection of the theory that Jesus Christ will have a thousand-year long, physical reign on the earth...
Partial preterists although these Churches may not explicitly state this as their position.
Full preterism
Full preterism differs from partial preterism in that full preterists believe that all eschatology or "end times" events were fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem, including the resurrection of the deadResurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
and Jesus' Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
or Parousia. Full preterism is also known by several other names: preterism (because the term itself means "past"), consistent preterism, true preterism, hyper-preterism (a pejorative term used by opponents of preterists), and Pantelism
Pantelism
Pantelism is a variant of Christian eschatology that holds that the plan of God has been completed both prophetically and redemptively. The term "pantelism" comes from the Greek παντελής "all accomplished," and means "all things having been accomplished". Pantelism has a similar "inclusive"...
. (The term pantelism comes from two Greek roots: παν (pan), "everything", and τελ- (tel-), referring to completion—another attempted pejorative label that never caught on).
Full preterism holds that Jesus' Second Coming is to be viewed not as a future bodily return, but rather a "return" in glory manifested by the physical destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple in A.D. 70
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
by foreign armies in a manner similar to various Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
descriptions of God coming to destroy other nations in righteous judgment. Full preterism also holds that the Resurrection of the Dead did not entail the raising of the physical body but rather the resurrection of the soul from the "place of the dead", known as Sheol
Sheol
Sheol |Hebrew]] Šʾôl) is the "grave", "pit", or "abyss" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God"...
(Hebrew) or Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
(Greek) and that both the living and the dead were raised, changed, caught away and glorified together into one/corporate matured New Covenant
New Covenant
The New Covenant is a concept originally derived from the Hebrew Bible. The term "New Covenant" is used in the Bible to refer to an epochal relationship of restoration and peace following a period of trial and judgment...
Body of Christ
Body of Christ
In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ has two separate connotations: it may refer to Jesus's statement about the Eucharist at the Last Supper that "This is my body" in , or the explicit usage of the term by the Apostle Paul in to refer to the Christian Church.Although in general usage the...
.
Some versions of full preterism teach that the righteous dead obtained an individual spiritual and substantial body for use in the heavenly realm, and the unrighteous dead were cast into the Lake of Fire
Lake of Fire
A lake of fire appears, in both ancient Egyptian and Christian religion, as a place of after-death punishment of the wicked. The phrase is used in four verses of the Book of Revelation. The image was also used by the Early Christian Hippolytus of Rome in about the year 200 and has continued to be...
. Some full preterists believe that this judgment is ongoing and that it takes effect upon the death of each individual (Heb. 9:27).
Other full preterists believe that because the Book of Revelation was signified (or "symbolized", according to its first verse, Revelation 1:1), the Lake of Fire was only AD 70s Gehenna
Gehenna
Gehenna , Gehinnom and Yiddish Gehinnam, are terms derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom ; one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City.In the Hebrew Bible, the site was initially where apostate Israelites and...
(Jerusalem's garbage dump, not Hell) as it burned. Moreover, this burning was just aionios (pertaining to an age), not eternal. The hermeneutic of audience relevance confines this judgment and punishment to the 1st century AD.
The New Heaven and the New Earth are also equated with the New Covenant and the Fulfillment of the Law in AD 70 and are to be viewed in the same manner by which a Christian is considered a "new creation" upon his or her conversion.
Full preterists typically reject the authority of the Creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
s to condemn their view, stating that the Creeds were written by uninspired and fallible men and that appeals should be made instead to the Scriptures themselves (sola scriptura
Sola scriptura
Sola scriptura is the doctrine that the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, sola scriptura demands that only those doctrines are to be admitted or confessed that are found directly within or indirectly by using valid logical deduction or valid...
).
Within the camp of full preterism, there are also some who see all the covenants and prophecies in scripture to have pertained exclusively to a chosen remnant of "Israelites according to the flesh" (Romans 9:3-5) since the "new covenant" promise explicitly named only "the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (i.e. the Twelve Tribes of fleshly Israel) as its intended benefactors (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and Jesus Christ claimed he was sent "only" to "Israel" (Matthew 15:24). Along this line, it is also understood that "all Israel" was completely redeemed at the AD 70 parousia (Romans 11:25-26) when there was a physical resurrection of the living and the dead for the final judgement and rewards (Matthew 16:27-28; 1 Thessalians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:11-15). Therefore, the only true Christian Church was taken to be with the Lord in AD 70, and there is no on-going fulfillment, application, or appropriation of any of God's redemptive purpose for any other people after that time.
It should also be noted that a fundamental tenet of this Israel-exclusive version of full preterism is the interpretation of the word "Gentiles" in scripture as a translation of the Hebrew (GOYIM) and Greek (ethne) words for "nations" that were commonly used of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the original biblical covenants and promises (Genesis 17:5-8; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 48:19-20; Acts 2:5-11). Thus, both "Jews and Gentiles" mentioned in the New Testament scriptures (Romans 1:16-17; 3:9-29) were actually physical descendants of "Abraham" who was the "forefather according to the flesh" (Romans 4:1) of them "all" (Romans 4:11).
Influences of preterism within Christian Thought
Partial preterism is generally considered to be an historic orthodox interpretation as it affirms all eschatological points of the ecumenical Creeds of the Church. Still, partial preterism is not the majority view among American denominations founded after the 16th century and meets with significant vocal opposition, especially by those denominations which espouse DispensationalismDispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
. Additionally, concerns are expressed by Dispensationalists that partial preterism logically leads to an acceptance of full preterism, a concern which is denied by partial preterists.
Full preterism is sometimes viewed as heretical, based upon the historic creeds of the church (which would exclude this view), and also from Biblical passages that condemn a past view of the Resurrection or the denial of a physical resurrection or transformation of the body — doctrines which most Christians believe to be essential to the faith. Critics of full preterism point to the Apostle Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
's condemnation of the doctrine of Hymenaeus
Hymenaeus (Ephesian)
Hymenaeus was an early Christian from Ephesus, an opponent of the apostle Paul, who associates him with Alexander and Philetus.In 1 Timothy 1:20, Hymenaeus is included in the "some" who had put away faith and a good conscience and who had made shipwreck concerning faith...
and Philetus
Philetus (Ephesian)
Philetus was an early Christian mentioned by Paul, who warns Timothy against him as well as against his associate in error, Hymenaeus. The apostle speaks of Hymeneus and Philetus as instances of men who were doing most serious injury to the church by their teaching, and by what that teaching...
, which they regard as analogous to full preterism. Adherents of full preterism, however, dispute this assertion by pointing out that Paul's condemnation was written during a time in which the Resurrection was still in the future (i.e., pre-A.D. 70
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
). Their critics assert that if the Resurrection has not yet happened, then the condemnation would still apply.
Interpretation of the Book of Revelation
Preterism holds that the contents of Revelation constitute a prophecy of events that were fulfilled in the 1st century. Preterism was first expounded by the Jesuit Luis De Alcasar during the Counter Reformation. The preterist view served to bolster the Catholic Church's position against attacks by Protestants, who identified the Pope with the Anti-Christ.Interpretation of the Great Tribulation
In the preterist view, the Tribulation took place in the past when Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
during the end stages of the First Jewish–Roman War, and it only affected the Jewish people rather than all mankind.
Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 AD when the armed forces of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
or Book of Revelation. (Preterists apply much of the symbolism in the Revelation to Rome, the Cæsars
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
, and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.)
Jesus' warning in that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" is tied back to his similar warning to the Scribes
Scribes
Scribes is a minimalist and extensible text editor for GNOME that combines simplicity with power. Scribes focuses on ways workflow and productivity can be intelligently automated and radically improved...
and the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
that their judgment would "come upon this generation" , that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the Scribes and Pharisees had passed from the scene. The destruction in 70 AD occurred within a 40-year generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse.
The judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" , which Luke presented to his Gentile audience, unfamiliar with Daniel, as "armies" surrounding Jerusalem to cause its "desolation." (Luke 21:20)
Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem Temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built. The prophecies were all fulfilled on the then-existing temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation.
Key Verses
; ; :This predicted event has been variously interpreted as referring to: (1) Jesus' transfiguration; (2) his resurrection; (3) the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost; (4) the spread of the kingdom through the preaching of the early church; (5) the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD 70; or (6) the second coming and final establishment of the kingdom. View (6) is unacceptable to many preterists because it implies that Jesus was mistaken about the timing of his return. Many preterists believe the immediate context seems to indicate the first view, the transfiguration, which immediately follows . This view seems to satisfy that "some" disciples would see the glory of the Son of Man, but it does not satisfy that "he will repay every man for what he has done." the same situation occurs with views (2) through (4). Only view (5) of the judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70 appears to satisfy both conditions (reinforced with ), as a preterist would argue.
See also
- Book of RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
- Christian EschatologyChristian eschatologyChristian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
- The Beast in PreterismThe Beast (preterism)The Beast in preterism is a figure in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, interpreted to refer to historical features at the time Revelation was written....
- SupersessionismSupersessionismSupersessionism is a term for the dominant Christian view of the Old Covenant, also called fulfillment theology and replacement theology, though the latter term is disputed...
- DispensationalismDispensationalismDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
- Olive Tree Theology
- Covenant theologyCovenant TheologyCovenant theology is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences