Preterism
Preterism is the belief all Bible prophecies, including those relating to the Second Coming of Christ, Resurrection of the Dead, Rapture of the Living, Judgment of the Wicked and arrival of the Kingdom of God, came to complete fulfillment in the first century about the time of the Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E. as predicted by Jesus in Luke 21:
“6As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down”;
“22for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written”;
“28Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near”;
“31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place” (Luke 21:6, 22, 28, 31-32, ESV).
Under the Old Covenant, being judged a false prophet was a very serious matter: it meant a death sentence (Deut. 18:20). Yet, most modern prophecy teachers seem oblivious to this crucial point and present a gospel making Jesus and his apostles an outrageous band of false prophets.
Some argue preterism is a relatively new teaching. However, as we can see from the passage above, there is nothing new about it. It comes from the New Testament writings which were authored long before any manmade creeds containing contrary declarations. For proof preterism is absolutely biblical, please read Jesus Predicted a First-Century Return and The Apostles Predicted a First-Century Return of Christ. These articles list the emphatic predictions most Christians seem unwilling to face honestly.
I believe all Bible prophecy was fulfilled on schedule, the first-century Church received everything it was promised, and the words of Jesus, God’s holy apostles and scripture take precedence over all teachings to the contrary.
“24This is what the Lord says…‘I am the Lord… 25I expose the false prophets as liars…thus proving them to be fools. 26But I carry out the predictions of my prophets!’” (Isa. 44:24-26, NLT).
Some use the term partial-preterism to refer to the belief only some prophecy has been fulfilled. However, one who believes only some prophecy has been fulfilled cannot believe all has been fulfilled, and therefore, is not a preterist at all. One who believes any prophecy is yet to be fulfilled is a futurist. I utterly reject and have no use for the term partial-preterism.
Question: Mr. Fenemore, do you believe a person who does not subscribe to preterism can still be considered a Christian?
Answer: Yes. However, one who willingly ignores or carelessly dismisses the plain teachings of Jesus could be on dangerous ground.
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