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'''Preterism''' is a [[Christian eschatology|Christian eschatological view]] or belief that interprets some (partial preterism) or all (full preterism) [[Bible Prophecy (Eschatology)|prophecies]] of the [[Bible]] as events which have already been fulfilled in history. This school of thought interprets the [[Book of Daniel]] as referring to events that happened from the seventh century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of the [[Book of Revelation]], as well as Christ's predictions within the [[Olivet Discourse]], as events that happened in the [[Early Christianity|first century AD]]. Preterism holds that [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Ancient Israel]] finds its [[Supersessionism|continuation or fulfillment]] in the [[Christian church]] at the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of Jerusalem in AD&nbsp;70]].

[[File:(Venice) La distruzione del tempio di Gerusalemme -Francesco Hayez - gallerie Accademia Venice.jpg|thumb|The [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|AD&nbsp;70 destruction of Jerusalem]] ([[Francesco Hayez]] painting pictured) is seen by preterists as being allegorically portrayed in the Book of Revelation.]]

The term ''preterism'' comes from the Latin {{lang|la|praeter}}, which is a prefix denoting that something is {{gloss|past}} or {{gloss|beyond}}.<ref>Webster's 1913 Dictionary</ref> 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&nbsp;70.

Historically, preterists and non-preterists have generally agreed that the [[Jesuit]] [[Luis del Alcázar|Luis de Alcasar]] (1554–1613) wrote the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy {{lang|la|Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi}}, published during the [[Counter-Reformation]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=F_RDAAAAcAAJ Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi]</ref>

==History==
[[File:Alcazar title page.jpg|thumb|Title page of [[Luis del Alcázar]]'s ''Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi'' (1614), the founding text of modern preterism]]
At the time of the [[Counter-Reformation]], the Jesuit [[Luis de Alcasar]] wrote a prominent preterist exposition of prophecy.<ref name="Spanish Jesuit Alcasar 1614">{{Harvnb | Farrar | 1882}},  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'.</ref>{{Page needed | date = December 2013}}<ref>{{Harvnb | Froom | 1954 | p = 509}}, Alcazar was the first to apply preterism to the Apocalypse with anything like completeness, though it had previously been applied somewhat to Daniel'</ref> [[Moses Stuart]] noted in 1845 that Alcasar's preterist interpretation advantaged the [[Roman Catholic Church]] during its arguments with [[Protestants]],<ref name="Protestants page 464">{{Harvnb | Stuart | 1845 | p = 464}} "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"</ref> and Kenneth Newport in an eschatological commentary in 2000 described preterism as a Catholic defense against the Protestant [[Historicism (Christianity)|historicist]] view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a [[Great Apostasy|persecuting apostasy]].<ref name= "Newport page 74">{{Harvnb | Newport | 2000 | p = 74}} "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"</ref>

Due to resistance from Protestant historicists, the preterist view was slow to gain acceptance outside the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>{{Citation | first = Drue | last = Cressener | author-link = Drue Cressener | title = The Judgments of God Upon The Roman Catholic Church, &c | chapter = Preface | year = 1689}}</ref>{{Page needed | date = December 2013}} Among Protestants preterism was first accepted by [[Hugo Grotius]]<ref>{{Harvnb | Froom | 1954 | p = 510}}, "The Preterist view was soon adopted and taught, with various modifications, by the Protestant Hugo Grotius of Holland in his Annotationes (1644)"</ref>{{Sfn | Newport | 2000 | p = 74}} (1583{{ndash}}1645), a Dutch Protestant eager to establish common ground between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>{{Harvnb | Hammond | 1655}}, "all that this very learned man was guilty of in this matter, was but this, his passionate desire of the unity of the Church in the bands of peace and truth, and a full dislike of all uncharitable distempers, and impious doctrines"</ref> His first attempt to do this in his  "Commentary on Certain Texts Which Deal with Antichrist" (1640) arguing that the texts relating to [[Antichrist]] had had their fulfillment in the 1st century AD. Protestants did not welcome these views<ref>{{Harvnb | Froom | 1954 | p = 510}},  "When Grotius' authorship of the book was detected, it turned all orthodox theologians against him"</ref> but Grotius remained undeterred and in his next work, "Commentaries On The New Testament" (1641–1650), he expanded his preterist views to include the [[Olivet Discourse]] and the [[Book of Revelation]].

Preterism continued to struggle to gain credibility within other Protestant communities, especially in England.<ref>{{harvnb| Brady | 1983 | p = 158}}. "But those who argued for the preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation, and for that matter the futurist interpretation also, were playing to empty galleries, until at least the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. Their views were anything but popular and those who followed them could soon find themselves branded with the infamous mark of the papal beast".</ref> The English commentator [[Thomas Hayne (theologian)|Thomas Hayne]] claimed in 1645 that the prophecies of the [[Book of Daniel]] had all been fulfilled by the 1st century,<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Hayne
 | first1 = Thomas
 | author-link1 = Thomas Hayne (theologian)
 | title = Christs Kingdome on Earth, opened according to the Scriptures. Herein is examined what Mr. Th. Brightman, Dr. J. Alstede, Mr. I. Mede, Mr. H. Archer, The Glympse of Sions Glory, and such as concurre in opinion with them, hold concerning the thousand years of the Saints Reign with Christ, and of Satans binding
 | location = London
 | date = 1645
}}
</ref>
and [[Joseph Hall (bishop)|Joseph Hall]] expressed the same conclusion concerning Daniel's prophecies in 1650,<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Hall
 | first1 = Joseph
 | author-link1 = Joseph Hall (bishop)
 | title = The Revelation Unrevealed. Concerning The Thousand-Yeares Reigne of the Saints with Christ Upon Earth. Laying Forth the Weak Grounds, and Strange Consequences of that Plausible, and Too- Much Received Opinion
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4qZBwwEACAAJ
 | publisher = R.L.
 | date = 1650
}}
</ref>
but neither of them applied a preterist approach to Revelation. However, the exposition of Grotius convinced the Englishman [[Henry Hammond]] (1605–1660). Hammond sympathized with Grotius' desire for unity among Christians, and found his preterist exposition useful to this end.{{Sfn | Hammond | 1655}}{{Page needed | date = December 2013}} 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.<ref>{{Citation | quote = …appeared to me to be the meaning of this prophecie, hath, for this main of it, in the same manner represented it self to several persons of great piety and learning (as since I have discerned) none taking it from the other, but all from the same light shining in the Prophecie it self. Among which number I now also find the most learned Hugo Grotius, in those posthumous notes of his on the Apocalypse, lately publish'd | last = Hammond | first = Henry | title = Paraphrase and Annotations | chapter = Introduction to Revelation | year = 1653}}.</ref>{{Page needed | date = December 2013}} 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.{{Sfn | Brady | 1983 | p = 158 | ps =: This volume contained a brave but lonely attempt to introduce the preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation to English soil}}<ref>{{Citation | quote = For most divines in the (early) Enlightenment the choice between the preterist approach of Grotius and the historicist approach of [[Johannes Cocceius|Cocceius]] was not a difficult one: there was a strong predilection for the latter | last = Van Der Wall | first = Ernestine | contribution = Between Grotius And Cocceius: The 'Theologica Prophetica' of Campegius Vitringa (1659–1722) | title = Hugo Grotius, Theologian: Essays in Honour of GHM Posthumous Meyjer | series = Studies in the History of Christian Thought | volume = 55 | page = 202 | year = 1994}}.</ref>{{Sfn | Froom | 1954 | p = 510 | ps = "…in 1791 JG Eichhorn (1752–1827), the noted German rationalist, revived and republished Alcazar's Preterist interpretation"}}

By the end of the 18th century preterist exposition had gradually become more widespread. In 1730 the Protestant and [[Arian]], Frenchman [[Firmin Abauzit]] wrote the first full preterist exposition, "Essai sur l'Apocalypse". Abauzit worked in the then independent [[Canton of Geneva|Republic of Geneva]] as a librarian.{{Sfn | Stuart | 1845 | p = 470 | ps =: "The great mass of the religious public became, at last, wearied out with the extravagances and the errors of apocalyptic interpreters. This prepared the way for ABAUZIT, in his Essay on the Apocalypse (see p. 443 above), to broach the idea, that the whole book relates to the destruction of Judea and Jerusalem. His starting point was, that the book itself declares that all which it predicts would take place speedily.  Hence Rome, in chap. xiii–xix. points figuratively to Jerusalem. Chap. xxi. xxii. relate to the extension of the church, after the destruction of the Jews"}} This was part of a growing development of more systematic preterist expositions of Revelation.{{Sfn | Stuart | 1845 | pp = 470, 417, 471–72}} Later, though, it appears that Abauzit recanted this approach after a critical examination by his English translator, [[Leonard Twells]].<ref>{{Citation | quote = "Essay upon the Apocalypse", (was) written to show that the canonical authority of the book of Revelation was doubtful, and to apply the predictions to the destruction of Jerusalem. This work was sent by the author to Dr. Twells, in London, who translated it from French into English, and added a refutation, – with which Abauzit was so well satisfied, that he desired his friend in Holland to stop an intended impression.|title= General Biography|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rkEBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA4 |last = Aiken|page= 4 | year = 1799}}.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Citation | quote = We, on the contrary, fulfil every thing by that magic phrase, 'the destruction of Jerusalem.' But can we really and seriously refer these passages which I have quoted from Paul, to the destruction Jerusalem? Can we truly say that the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, let that mean what it may, exhausted all their meaning — the meaning which was the thought in Paul's mind when he wrote them? I must confess I cannot|title= The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Past Event | last = Townley|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nRkEAAAAQAAJ | year = 1852}}.</ref>

==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.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Po-eEvdQPo8C&pg=PA92 | title = The Birth Pangs: An Obstetrician Unveils Jesus' Timeline for Earth's Final Travail | page = 92| isbn = 9781607994039 | last1 = Abdul-Malak | first1 = Michael | date = February 2010 }}.</ref> 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]].{{Sfn | Sproul | 1998|p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=KDVlICMWGCoC&pg=PA155 155]}}

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]]. 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 in the New Testament|Apostles]]' belief that all prophecy would 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.<ref>{{Citation | last = Allison | first = DC jr |date=Winter 1994 | title = A Plea for Thoroughgoing Eschatology | journal = Journal of Biblical Literature | volume = 113 | number = 4 | pages = 651–68 | doi=10.2307/3266712| jstor = 3266712 }}.</ref>

===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]], the [[Great Tribulation]], and the advent of [[the Day of the Lord]] as a "judgment-coming" of Christ, were fulfilled either in [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|AD&nbsp;70]]<ref name= "PopEncyc">{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yipXIHcteRsC&q=partial+preterism&pg=PA405 | title = The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity | page = 405 | editor1-last = Hindson | editor2-first = Ergun | editor2-last = Caner | publisher = Harvest House |date=May 2008| isbn = 9780736936354 }}.</ref> or during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor [[Nero]].{{Sfn | Cory | 2006 | p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=IzzAFl2ONfAC&pg=PA61  61]}}{{Sfn | Garrow | 1997 | p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=SkOg-tEYbR4C&pg=PA86  86]}}

Some partial preterists may believe that the [[Antichrist]], the [[Great Tribulation]], and the advent of [[the Day of the Lord]] as a "judgment-coming" of Christ, were not historically fulfilled.
[[File:Silver Denarius of Nero, Rome (MANTIS).jpg|thumb|Head of [[Nero]] on a silver [[denarius]]: [''The beast'']'' also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.'']]
Some partial preterists identify "[[Babylon (New Testament)|Babylon the Great]]" (Revelation 17–18) with the pagan [[Roman Empire]], though some, such as [[N.T. Wright]], [[Scott Hahn]], [[Jimmy Akin]], [[David Chilton]], and [[Kenneth Gentry]] identify it with the city of [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]].<ref name="PopEncyc" /><ref>{{Citation | quote = Finally something must be said, despite its difficulties, concerning the book of Revelation. The above presentation adds some weight to the quite controversial thesis that the city which is to be destroyed (the great whore that has become drunk with the blood of the saints) is to be identified, not with Rome, but with Jerusalem. As with any interpretation of Revelation there are problems with this, but there are also some strong arguments in favour. | first = N. T. | last = Wright | author-link = N. T. Wright | url = http://ntwrightpage.com/files/2016/05/Wright_Jerusalem_New_Testament.pdf | title = Jerusalem in the New Testament | year = 1994 | access-date = 2017-04-26 | archive-date = 2017-04-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003600/http://ntwrightpage.com/files/2016/05/Wright_Jerusalem_New_Testament.pdf | url-status = dead }}.</ref> Most interpretations identify [[The Beast (preterism)|Nero as the Beast]],<ref name="Cory, 61">{{harvnb|Cory|2006|p = 61}}</ref>{{Sfn |Garrow|1997|p=86}}<ref>{{cite book| title= The Catholic youth Bible: New American Bible including the revised Psalms and the revised New Testament, translated from the original languages with critical use of all the ancient sources |year= 2005|publisher= [[Saint Mary's Press]]|location= Winona, MN |isbn= 978-0-88489-798-9 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SnORJqkR7qsC&pg=RA7-PT1423|edition= rev}}</ref><ref name="just">{{cite web | first = Felix |last= Just |url= http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/666.htm#Academic |title= 666: The Number of the Beast | publisher = Catholic resources | date = 2002-02-02 |access-date=2006-06-06 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last = Hillers |first=DR |title=Revelation 13:18 and a Scroll from Murabba'at |journal=[[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research]] |volume=170 |year=1963 |page=65 es |doi=10.2307/1355990|jstor=1355990|issue=170 |s2cid=163790686 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = The New Jerome Biblical Commentary | editor1-first = Raymond E | editor1-last = Brown | editor2-first = Joseph A | editor2-last = Fitzmyer | editor3-first = Roland E | editor3-last = Murphy | place = Englewood Cliffs, NJ | publisher = Prentice-Hall | year = 1990 | page = 1009}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Some Recently Published NT Papyri from Oxyrhynchus: An Overview and Preliminary Assessment | first = Peter M | last = Head | journal = [[Tyndale Bulletin]] | volume = 51 | year = 2000 | pages = 1–16 | place = [[United Kingdom|UK]] | publisher = CAM | doi = 10.53751/001c.30281 | s2cid = 69099150 | doi-access = free }}.</ref>{{Efn | Whose name, written in Aramaic, can be valued at 666, using the Hebrew numerology of [[gematria]], a manner of speaking against the emperor without the Roman authorities knowing. Also "Nero Caesar" in the [[Hebrew alphabet]] is נרון קסר ''NRWN QSR'', which when [[Hebrew alphabet#Numeric values of letters|used as numbers]] represent 50 200 6 50 100 60 200, which add to 666. The Greek term χάραγμα (''charagma'', "mark" in Revelation 13:16) was most commonly used for imprints on documents or coins.{{Citation needed | date = December 2013}}}} while [[Number of the beast|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.<ref name="spilsbury2002">{{Citation | first = Paul | last = Spilsbury | year = 2002 | title = The throne, the lamb & the dragon: A Reader's Guide to the Book of Revelation | publisher = InterVarsity Press | page = 99}}.</ref> 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]] 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.<ref>"Scholars have noted that the Greek form of Neron Caesar transliterated into Hebrew characters is equivalent to 666 and the Latin form of Nero Caesar transliterated into Hebrew script is equivalent to the variant 616. Similarly the ''Shema'' of Bar Kochba is 666 and his patronymic that was modified in order to reflect his true nature (that of a deceiver/liar/false messiah)". P. Wyns, The Shema and Bar Kochba: the false messiah and 666, (Biblaridion media, March 2018), p.9</ref> However, others believe the Book of Revelation was written after Nero's suicide in AD&nbsp;68, and identify the [[The Beast (Revelation)|Beast]] with another emperor. The ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' states that Revelation was "written during the latter part of the reign of the Roman Emperor [[Domitian]], probably in AD&nbsp;95 or 96".<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&q=book+of+Revelation+95+catholic&pg=PA861 | publisher = Our Sunday Visitor | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | year = 1979 | page = 861 | isbn = 9780879736699 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>  Many Protestant scholars agree.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U-BT7qW6mVAC&q=book+of+Revelation+written+after&pg=PA126 | title = Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself | first = Tim | last = LaHaye | date = August 2009 | author-link = Tim LaHaye | page = 126| isbn = 9780736934022 }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gZq2HjvC0_wC&q=book+of+Revelation+written+after&pg=PA118 | title = Hegel's grand synthesis: a study of being, thought, and history | first = Daniel | last = Berthold-Bond | date = January 1989 | page = 118 | isbn = 9780887069550 | quote = notes in consensus that Revelation was written around 95 AD}}.</ref> The [[Second Coming]], [[resurrection of the dead]], and [[Final Judgment]] however, have not yet occurred in the partial preterist system.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oMq5m_3hYoEC&q=partial+preterism&pg=PA232 | title = The Popular Dictionary of Bible Prophecy | page = 232 | first = Ron | last = Rhodes | publisher = Harvest House |date=Feb 2010| isbn = 9780736937504 }}.</ref>

===Full preterism===<!-- This section is linked from [[Second Coming]] -->
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's [[Second Coming]], or ''Parousia'', and the [[Final Judgment]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Frost |first1=Samuel |first2=David |last2=Green |first3=Ed |last3=Hassertt |first4=Michael |last4=Sullivan |title=House Divided: Bridging the Gap in Reformed Eschatology. A Preterist Response to ''When Shall These Things Be?''}}</ref>{{Page needed |date=December 2013}}

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]]''. (The term "pantelism" comes from two Greek roots: παν (''pan''), "everything", and τελ- (''tel-''), referring to completion).
* ''Covenant Eschatology''
* ''Fulfilled Eschatology''<ref>{{Citation |title=Fulfilled Eschatology |first=Tim |last=Liwanag |publisher=CreateSpace |date=May 2015|isbn=978-1512063110 }}.</ref>

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)<ref>{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E53TGSIxgyoC&q=partial%20preterism&pg=PA316 |title=5-Minute Apologetics for Today |page=316 |first=Ron |last=Rhodes |publisher=Harvest House |date=March 2010|isbn=9780736937580 }}.</ref> 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&nbsp;70.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux-X_FFK5i0C&q=partial%20preterism&pg=PA115 |title=End Time Delusions: The Rapture, the Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World |page=115 |first=Steve |last=Wohlberg |publisher=Destiny Image |year=2005|isbn=9780768429602 }}.</ref> For this reason, those who oppose the notion also call full preterism "the AD&nbsp;70 doctrine", since the whole eschatology is hinged on this one event.<ref>{{Citation |publisher=KC COFC |title=AD 70 |type=lecture manuscript |number=39th |year=2000 |last=Clarke |url=http://www.kc-cofc.org/39th/Lectures/2000%20Manuscripts/Clarke%20-%20AD%2070.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030131050658/http://kc-cofc.org/39th/Lectures/2000%20Manuscripts/Clarke%20-%20AD%2070.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2003 }}.</ref> [[R. C. Sproul]] said of full preterist [[Max R. King]], "for this schema to work, the traditional idea of resurrection must be replaced with a metaphorical idea of resurrection".<ref>''The End Times Controversy'' edited by Tim F. LaHaye, Thomas Ice 2003 [https://books.google.com/books?id=DGKY59jebNUC&pg=PA24 p.24] "..an orthodox view of the resurrection which is associated with Christ's return.33 Dr. Sproul says of full preterist Max King, "For this schema to work, the traditional idea of resurrection must be replaced with a metaphorical idea of resurrection,"</ref> Detractors of full preterism often refer to the school as ''hyper-preterism''.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yipXIHcteRsC&q=hyper-preterism&pg=PA405 |title=The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity |page=405|isbn=9780736936354 |last1=Hindson |first1=Ed |last2=Caner |first2=Ergun |date=May 2008 }}.</ref>

In recent years full preterism has divided into sub-groups. An important offshoot that differs markedly from the theology of Max King and Don K. Preston is the Individual Body View (IBV) of full preterism. The term refers to a belief in a rapture of individuals that occurred in AD&nbsp;66 (not AD 70), an event that first involved an experiential change into spiritual bodies. This is counter to the Max King variant of full preterism, the Corporate Body View (CBV), which Edward E. Stevens, debating against that view, defines as "a spiritual-only change of status for a collective body, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with the resurrection of individual disembodied souls out of Hades to receive their new immortal bodies and go to heaven where their fellowship with God was eternally restored."<ref>First Negative of the "Preston-Stevens Debate on the Rapture</ref> A more recent reaction within full preterism is in adopting the term "Bible Preterism" to reassert basic Gospel doctrines such as salvation and forgiveness being available from the time of Calvary, a tenet that Don K. Preston denies, asserting these were only available in AD 70.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXEbJYTYOxY |title=Israel's Feast Days- A Final Look At Daniel 9 & The Atonement |date=2024-09-11 |last=MrDonPreston |access-date=2025-11-23 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

=== Related positions ===
* Pauline Eschatology
* Israel Onlyism

==Influences within Christian thought==
{{Globalize|section|USA|2name=the United States||date=September 2023}}
Partial preterism is generally considered to be a historic orthodox interpretation as it affirms all eschatological points of the ecumenical Creeds of the Church.<ref name="Garland 2007 114">{{Harvnb | Garland | 2007 | p = 114}}.</ref><ref name = "Anderberg 2008 174">{{cite book | last = Anderberg | first = Roy | author-link = Roy W Anderberg | title = The Return of Christ: A Biblical Study | year = 2008 | page = 174}}</ref><ref name = "Sproul 1998 156">{{Harvnb | Sproul | 1998 | p =156}}.</ref> Still, partial preterism is not the majority view among American [[Christian denominations|denominations]] founded after 1500 and meets with significant vocal opposition, especially by those denominations which espouse [[dispensationalism]].<ref name="Garland 2007 114"/><ref name="Sproul 1998 156" /><ref>{{cite book | last =Riemer | first =Michael | author-link = Michael A Riemer | title = It Was At Hand | year = 2000 | page = 12}}</ref> Additionally, dispensationalists are concerned that partial preterism logically leads to an acceptance of full preterism, a concern which is denied by partial preterists.{{Sfn | Garland | 2007 | p = 117}}

Full preterism is sometimes viewed as heretical,<ref name="Garland 2007 114"/><ref name= "Anderberg 2008 174" /><ref name = "Sproul 1998 156"/> 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 {{Ndash}}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 (Ephesian)|Hymenaeus]] and [[Philetus (Ephesian)|Philetus]],<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Tim|2:17-18}},</ref> 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 first century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.com/library/Whore_of_Babylon.asp|title=The Whore of Babylon|publisher=Catholic Answers|access-date=2007-05-11|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112104451/http://www.catholic.com/library/Whore_of_Babylon.asp}}</ref> Preterists believe that the dating of the book of Revelation is of vital importance{{sfn|Preston |2006 |loc=Foreword}} and that it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD&nbsp;70. Preterism was first expounded by the Jesuit [[Luis de Alcasar]] during the Counter-Reformation.<ref name= "Spanish Jesuit Alcasar 1614"/>{{Sfn | Froom | 1954 | p = 509 | ps =: Alcazar was the first to apply Preterism to the Apocalypse with anything like completeness, though it had previously been applied somewhat to Daniel}}{{sfn|Farrar |1882 |p=[https://archive.org/details/earlydaysofchri00farr/page/228 228]}} The preterist view served to bolster the Catholic Church's position against attacks by Protestants,<ref name ="Protestants page 464"/><ref name="Newport page 74" /> who identified the Pope with the Antichrist.

==Interpretation of the Great Tribulation==
{{Main article |Great Tribulation|Abomination of Desolation}}
In the preterist view, the Tribulation took place in the past when [[Roman legions]] destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70 during the end stages of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], and it affected only 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 [[Gospel]]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 [[Caesar (title)|Caesars]], and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.

Jesus's warning in Matthew 24:34 that "this generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled"<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|24:34}}</ref> is tied back to his similar warning to the [[Sofer|scribes]] and the [[Pharisees]] that their judgment would "come upon this generation",<ref>{{bibleref |Matthew|23:36}}</ref> that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the scribes and Pharisees had died. The destruction in AD&nbsp;70 occurred within a 40-year biblical generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse. Preterism maintains that the judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet."<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|24:15}}</ref> This can also be found in Luke 21:20.<ref>{{bibleref|Luke|21:20}}</ref>

Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem [[Second Temple|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 against the temple of that time, which was subsequently destroyed within that generation.

==Key verses==
{{blockquote |When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.| Matthew 10:23, [[NRSV]]<ref>{{Bibleref2 |Matthew|10:23}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote |But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God. |Luke 9:27, NRSV<ref>{{Bibleref2|Luke|9:27}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote |for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.|Luke 21:22, NRSV<ref>{{Bibleref2|Luke|21:22}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote |Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.|Matthew 16:28, NRSV<ref>{{Bibleref2|Matthew|16:28}}, quoted mostly by full preterists</ref>}}

{{blockquote |Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. |Matthew 24:34, NRSV<ref>{{Bibleref2|Matthew|24:34}}</ref>}}

This predicted event has been variously interpreted as referring to:{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
# 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{{quantify|date=May 2014}} preterists believe the immediate context seems to indicate the first view, the transfiguration, which immediately follows.<ref>{{Bibleref2 |Matthew|17:1–9}}; {{Bibleref2|Mark|9:2–10}}; {{Bibleref2|Luke|9:28–36}}</ref> 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,<ref>reinforced with {{Bibleref2 |Revelation|2:23; 20:12; 22:12}}</ref> as a preterist would argue.{{Citation needed | date = December 2013}}

==See also==
* [[Amillennialism]]
* [[The Beast (preterism)|The Beast in preterist theology]]
* [[Christian eschatology#Comparison of Futurist, Preterist and Historicist beliefs]]
* [[Covenant theology]]
* [[Pantelism]]
* [[Postmillennialism]]
* [[Supersessionism]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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[[Category:Christian interpretation of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Christian eschatology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Hermeneutical theory]]
[[Category:Biblical exegesis]]