Preterists
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Preterism, a Christian eschatological view, interprets some (partial preterism) or all (full preterism)
prophecies In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
as events which have already happened. This school of thought interprets the
Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...
as referring to events that happened from the 7th century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of the
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that
Ancient Israel The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscri ...
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 a prefix denoting that something is "past" or "beyond". Adherents of preterism are known as preterists. Preterism teaches that either all (full preterism) or a majority (partial preterism) of the Olivet discourse had come to pass by AD 70. Historically, preterists and non-preterists have generally agreed that the Jesuit
Luis de Alcasar Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...
(1554–1613) wrote the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy ''Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi'', published during the Counter-Reformation.


History

At the time of the Counter-Reformation, the Jesuit
Luis de Alcasar Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...
wrote a prominent preterist exposition of prophecy., It has been usual to say that the Spanish Jesuit Alcasar, in his Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalpysi (1614), was the founder of the Præterist School'.
Moses Stuart Moses B. Stuart (March 26, 1780 – January 4, 1852) was an American biblical scholar. Life and career Moses Stuart was born in Wilton, Connecticut on March 26, 1780. He was brought up on a farm, then attended Yale University graduating with h ...
noted in 1845 that Alcasar's preterist interpretation advantaged the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
during its arguments with Protestants, "It might be expected, that a commentary which thus freed the Romish church from the assaults of Protestants, would be popular among the advocates of the papacy. Alcassar met, of course, with general approbation and reception among the Romish community" and Kenneth Newport in an eschatological commentary in 2000 described preterism as a Catholic defense against the Protestant
historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a persecuting apostasy. "It is hardly surprising, given this general context, that the relatively few English Catholic commentators who turned their hands to the interpretation of these same passages should be concerned to counter this widely held, if somewhat variously presented, Protestant view. The response came in three basic forms: preterism, futurism, and 'counter historicism' – a term that has been created for the purposes of this discussion" Due to resistance from Protestant historicists, the preterist view was slow to gain acceptance outside the Roman Catholic Church. Among Protestants preterism was first accepted by Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), a Dutch Protestant eager to establish common ground between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church. His first attempt to do this in his "Commentary on Certain Texts Which Deal with Antichrist" (1640) attempted to argue that the texts relating to
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...
had had their fulfillment in the 1st century AD. Protestants did not welcome such views but Grotius remained undeterred and in his next work, "Commentaries On The New Testament" (1641–50), he expanded his preterist views to include the Olivet discourse and the
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
. Preterism continued to struggle to gain credibility within other Protestant communities, especially in England. The English commentator Thomas Hayne claimed in 1645 that the prophecies of the
Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...
had all been fulfilled by the 1st century, and Joseph Hall expressed the same conclusion concerning Daniel's prophecies in 1650, but neither of them applied a preterist approach to Revelation. However, the exposition of Grotius convinced the Englishman
Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond (c. 155 ...
(1605-1660). 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 giving pride of place to Grotius. Hammond was Grotius' only notable Protestant convert, and despite his reputation and influence, Protestants overwhelmingly rejected Grotius' interpretation of Revelation, which gained no ground for at least 100 years. By the end of the 18th century preterist exposition had gradually become more widespread. In 1730 the Protestant and Arian, Frenchman
Firmin Abauzit Firmin Abauzit (11 November 167920 March 1767) was a French scholar who worked on physics, theology and philosophy, and served as librarian in Geneva ( Republic of Geneva) during his final 40 years. Abauzit is also notable for proofreading or cor ...
wrote the first full preterist exposition, "Essai sur l'Apocalypse". Abauzit worked in the then independent Republic of Geneva as a librarian. 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,
Leonard Twells Leonard Twells (1684?–1742) was an English cleric and theological writer. Life His father John was Master of Newark School. He received his education at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1704. In 1722 Twells was presented to ...
. The earliest American full-preterist work, ''The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Past Event'', was written in 1845 by Robert Townley. Townley later recanted this view. Preterists, full and partial, believe that preterism is becoming increasingly popular due to more recent translations of the Bible – with
Young's Literal Translation Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of '' Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible'' and ''Concise Critical Comments on the New Te ...
(1862) being a key work.


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 ''orthodox preterism'', ''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. Sub-variants of preterism include a 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 The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
. 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 (often referred to as ''orthodox preterism'' or ''classical preterism'') may hold that most eschatological prophecies, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, the
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...
, the
Great Tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation ( grc, θλῖψις μεγάλη, thlîpsis megálē) is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At Revelation 7:14, "the Great Tri ...
, and the advent of
the Day of the Lord "The Day of the Lord" is a biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible ( ''Yom Yahweh'') and the New Testament (, ''hēmera Kyriou''), as in ''"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the t ...
as a "judgment-coming" of Christ, were fulfilled either in
AD 70 AD 70 ( LXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus (or, less frequently, year 823 ''Ab urbe condita''). Th ...
. or during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
. Some partial preterists may believe that the
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...
, the
Great Tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation ( grc, θλῖψις μεγάλη, thlîpsis megálē) is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At Revelation 7:14, "the Great Tri ...
, and the advent of
the Day of the Lord "The Day of the Lord" is a biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible ( ''Yom Yahweh'') and the New Testament (, ''hēmera Kyriou''), as in ''"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the t ...
as a "judgment-coming" of Christ, were not historically fulfilled. Some partial preterists identify "
Babylon the Great Babylon the Great, commonly known as the Whore of Babylon, refers to both a symbolic female figure and place of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Her full title is stated in Revelation 17 (Revelation 17:5, verse 5) as "Myster ...
" (Revelation 17–18) with the pagan
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, though some, such as N.T. Wright,
David Chilton __NOTOC__ David Harold Chilton (1951–1997) was an American pastor, Reconstructionist, speaker and author of several books on economics, eschatology and Christian Worldview from Placerville, California. He contributed three books on eschatolo ...
, and Kenneth Gentry identify it with the city of
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Most interpretations identify Nero as the Beast, while his mark is often interpreted as the stamped image of the emperor's head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell.. Another partial preterist view regards first and second century events as recurrent patterns with Nero and Bar Kochba presented as archetypes. There is evidence that the epithet of
Bar Kochba Simon ben Koseba or Cosiba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא, translit= Šīmʾōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ‎ ; died 135 CE), commonly known as Bar Kokhba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא‎, translit=Šīmʾōn bar ...
is a play on the Hebrew ''Shema'' with the value equating to the gematria value of 666. The pun on his patronymic equates to the variant reading 616. However, others believe the Book of Revelation was written after Nero's suicide in AD 68, and identify the Beast with another emperor. The
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
states that Revelation was "written during the latter part of the reign of the Roman Emperor
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
, probably in AD 95 or 96". Many Protestant scholars agree. The
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...
, resurrection of the dead, and
Final Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
however, have not yet occurred in the partial preterist system.


Full preterism

Full preterism differs from partial preterism in that full preterists believe that the destruction of Jerusalem fulfilled ''all'' eschatological or "end times" events, including the resurrection of the dead and Jesus'
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...
, or ''Parousia'', and the
Final Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
. Other names of full preterism include: * ''preterism'' (because the term itself means "past") * ''consistent preterism'' * ''true preterism'' * ''hyper-preterism'' (a pejorative term used by opponents of preterists) * ''
pantelism Pantelism is a variant of Christian eschatology that holds that the plan of God has been completed both prophetically and redemptively. Pantelism has a similar "inclusive" approach to that of transmillennialism. Pantelism is an extension of Pr ...
''. (The term "pantelism" comes from two Greek roots: παν (''pan''), "everything", and τελ- (''tel-''), referring to completion). * ''Covenant Eschatology'' * ''Fulfilled Eschatology'' Full preterists argue that a literal reading of Matthew 16:28 (where Jesus tells the disciples that some of them will not taste death until they see him coming in his kingdom) places the second coming in the first century. This precludes a physical second coming of Christ. Instead, the second coming is symbolic of a "judgment" against Jerusalem, said to have taken place with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. For this reason, people who oppose the whole notion also call full preterism "the AD 70 doctrine" as their whole eschatology is hinged on this one event.
R. C. Sproul Robert Charles Sproul ( ; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries (named for the Ligonier ...
says of full preterist
Max R. King Max R. King (born 1930) is the founder of the school of thought known as "transmillennialism". King was a minister in the Churches of Christ for 40 years before developing Transmillennialism. King pioneered a field of theology that he termed "coven ...
, of Ohio; "For this schema to work, the traditional idea of resurrection must be replaced with a metaphorical idea of resurrection". Detractors of full preterism often refer to the school as ''hyper-preterism''.


Related positions

* Pauline Eschatology * Israel Onlyism


Influences within Christian thought

Partial preterism is generally considered to be a 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 1500 and meets with significant vocal opposition, especially by those denominations which espouse
dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...
. Additionally, dispensationalists are concerned 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 Paul the Apostle'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 (their idea of) the resurrection was still in the future (i.e., pre-AD 70). 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. Preterists believe the dating of the book of Revelation is of vital importance and that it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Preterism was first expounded by the Jesuit
Luis de Alcasar Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...
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 Antichrist.


Interpretation of the Great Tribulation

In the preterist view, the Tribulation took place in the past when
Roman legions The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...
destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70 during the end stages of the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
, and it affected only the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
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 In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
. It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 AD when the armed forces of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
s, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and the Olivet discourse, rather than on the Book of Revelation. Most preterists apply much of the symbolism in Revelation to Rome, the Caesars, and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews. Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:34 that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" is tied back to his similar warning to the
scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promin ...
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 away. The destruction in AD 70 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." This can also be found in Luke 21:20. Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
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 against the temple of that time, which was subsequently destroyed within that generation.


Key verses

This predicted event has been variously interpreted as referring to: # Jesus' transfiguration # the resurrection # the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost # the spread of the kingdom through the preaching of the early church # the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem in AD 70 # the second coming and final establishment of the kingdom # the coming of Jesus Christ in vision to the apostle John in revelation. Many preterists find view 6 unacceptable because it implies a mistake on the part of Jesus 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 the statement that "he will repay every man for what he has done". The same situation occurs with views 2 through 4. Only view 5 (the judgement on Jerusalem in AD 70) appears to satisfy both conditions, reinforced with Revelation 2:23, 20:12 and 22:12,reinforced with as a preterist would argue.


See also

*
Amillennialism Amillennialism or amillenarism is a chillegoristic eschatological position in Christianity which holds that there will be no millennial reign of the righteous on Earth. This view contrasts with both postmillennial and, especially, with premi ...
* The Beast in preterist theology * Christian eschatology #Comparison of Futurist, Preterist and Historicist beliefs * Covenant theology *
Pantelism Pantelism is a variant of Christian eschatology that holds that the plan of God has been completed both prophetically and redemptively. Pantelism has a similar "inclusive" approach to that of transmillennialism. Pantelism is an extension of Pr ...
*
Postmillennialism In Christian eschatology (end-times theology), postmillennialism, or postmillenarianism, is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring ''after'' (Latin ''post-'') the "Millennium", ...
* Supersessionism


Notes


References


Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * * . * . * * . * . * . {{Doomsday Christian interpretation of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation