Partial Preterism
Encyclopedia
Partial preterism is a form of Christian
eschatology
that places the events of most of the Book of Revelation
as occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
AD (and/or the Fall of Rome several centuries later) yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ
to earth at an unknown day and hour. Partial preterism sees Matthew 24
, Matthew 25:31-46
, the Book of Daniel
and most of the Book of Revelation
(besides its last 2 or 3 chapters) as speaking about events no later than the 1st century AD, and about a coming of Christ in judgement, not the (second, final and bodily) coming of Christ
and Last judgement.
Most Partial Preterists also believe 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 had exclusively with national Israel
until the year AD 70, see also Supersessionism
. As God came in judgment
upon various nations in the Old Testament
, Christ also came in judgment against those in Israel who rejected him
. The "last days," however, are to be distinguished from the "last day," which is considered still future and entails the Second 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 (rather than covenantal) New Heavens and a New Earth free from the curse of sin and death which was brought about by the fall of Adam and Eve
, also called the Kingdom of God
. Thus partial preterists are in agreement and conformity with the historic eucemenical 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 and that the phrase Second Coming means second of like kind in a series, for the Scriptures record other comings even before the judgment-coming in AD 70, thus eliminating that event as the "second" of any series, let alone the second of the series in which the example is the earthly, physical ministry of Christ. 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 physical death, the "last enemy" (1 Cor 15:20-24). If there are any enemies remaining, the resurrection event cannot have occurred.
Partial preterism is consistent with Covenant theology
in that its basis lies in the outworking of the covenant judgements of Deuteronomy
28 - 32 and Leviticus 26 and as such opposes Dispensational
Premillennialism
and Futurism
popular in evangelical
circles today with such works as the Left Behind
series. Preterism also is distinct from Dispensational
eschatology in that it does not have specific modern political directives attached (see Dispensationalism's connection to Christian Zionism
).
Nearly all Partial Preterists hold to amillennialism
or postmillennialism
. Many postmillennial Partial Preterists are also theonomic
in their outlook.
A variant form of Partial Preterism exists within the Catholic
tradition which identifies the woman in Revelation 12 as Mary
rather than being symbolic of Israel
and/or the Church
in Protestant forms of Partial Preterism. The Eastern
and Oriental Orthodox Church
es are accepting of multiple valid interpretations on this point. They see the woman as being Saint Mary
whilst also being symbolic of Israel
and the Church
.
Partial Preterism relies heavily on the account of Flavius Josephus in describing the destruction of Jerusalem as a first hand account of the recorded fulfillment of the Book of Revelation.
Because of the widespread acceptance of Dispensational
Futurism
amongst American evangelicals, Partial Preterism is often considered unorthodox by many. Partial Preterism is also criticised for claiming that the Book of Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem sometime during the reign of Roman
emperor
Nero
in the AD 60s rather than around AD 90-95 which is the widely held belief among Dispensationalists and most biblical scholars. Kenneth Gentry
, a prominent Partial Preterist, wrote his PhD
thesis Before Jerusalem Fell
(which has since been made into a book) on a defense of placing the writing of the Book of Revelation during Nero's reign.
Partial Preterism is distinct from Full preterism, which holds that 'all' biblical prophecy was fulfilled in the past.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
that places the events of most of the Book of 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 occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
70
Year 70 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Vespasianus...
AD (and/or the Fall of Rome several centuries later) yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
to earth at an unknown day and hour. Partial preterism sees Matthew 24
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...
, Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
The Sheep and the Goats or "The Judgment of the Nations" was a discourse of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. It is sometimes characterized as a parable, although unlike most parables it does not purport to relate a story of events happening to other characters.One explanation is that it tells...
, 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,...
and most of the Book of 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"...
(besides its last 2 or 3 chapters) as speaking about events no later than the 1st century AD, and about a coming of Christ in judgement, not the (second, final and bodily) coming of Christ
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...
and Last judgement.
Most Partial Preterists also believe 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 had exclusively with national Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
until the year AD 70, see also Supersessionism
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...
. As God came in judgment
Judgment
A judgment , in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a guilty defendant in a criminal matter, or providing a remedy for the plaintiff in a civil...
upon various nations in the 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...
, Christ also came in judgment against those in Israel who rejected him
Rejection of Jesus
The Canonical Gospels of the New Testament include some accounts of the rejection of Jesus in the course of his ministry. Judaism's view of Jesus, Jesus in Islam, and the view of the Historical Jesus all differ from Christian views of Jesus.-Hometown rejection:...
. The "last days," however, are to be distinguished from the "last day," which is considered still future and entails the 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...
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, 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 (rather than covenantal) New Heavens and a New Earth free from the curse of sin and death which was brought about 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...
, also called the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
. Thus partial preterists are in agreement and conformity with the historic eucemenical creeds of the Church and articulate the doctrine of the resurrection
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...
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 and that the phrase Second Coming means second of like kind in a series, for the Scriptures record other comings even before the judgment-coming in AD 70, thus eliminating that event as the "second" of any series, let alone the second of the series in which the example is the earthly, physical ministry of Christ. 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 physical death, the "last enemy" (1 Cor 15:20-24). If there are any enemies remaining, the resurrection event cannot have occurred.
Partial preterism is consistent with Covenant theology
Covenant Theology
Covenant theology is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible...
in that its basis lies in the outworking of the covenant judgements of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
28 - 32 and Leviticus 26 and as such opposes Dispensational
Dispensationalism
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,...
Premillennialism
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
and Futurism
Futurism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
popular in evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
circles today with such works as the Left Behind
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series. Preterism also is distinct from Dispensational
Dispensationalist theology
Dispensational theology refers to the unified teachings of Dispensationalism that address what other views teach as divergent theologies in the Old Testament and New Testament...
eschatology in that it does not have specific modern political directives attached (see Dispensationalism's connection to Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...
).
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...
. Many postmillennial Partial Preterists 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.
A variant form of Partial Preterism exists within the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
tradition which identifies the woman in Revelation 12 as Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
rather than being symbolic of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and/or the 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"...
in Protestant forms of Partial Preterism. 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 are accepting of multiple valid interpretations on this point. They see the woman as being Saint Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
whilst also being symbolic of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the 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"...
.
Partial Preterism relies heavily on the account of Flavius Josephus in describing the destruction of Jerusalem as a first hand account of the recorded fulfillment of the Book of Revelation.
Because of the widespread acceptance of Dispensational
Dispensationalist theology
Dispensational theology refers to the unified teachings of Dispensationalism that address what other views teach as divergent theologies in the Old Testament and New Testament...
Futurism
Futurism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
amongst American evangelicals, Partial Preterism is often considered unorthodox by many. Partial Preterism is also criticised for claiming that the Book of Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem sometime during the reign of 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....
emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
in the AD 60s rather than around AD 90-95 which is the widely held belief among Dispensationalists and most biblical scholars. Kenneth Gentry
Kenneth Gentry
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. is a Reformed theologian, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly. He is particularly known for his support for and publication on the topics of partial preterism and postmillennialism in Christian eschatology, as well as for theonomy...
, a prominent Partial Preterist, wrote his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
thesis Before Jerusalem Fell
Before Jerusalem Fell
Before Jerusalem Fell is a book written by Kenneth Gentry based on his PhD dissertation from Whitefield Theological Seminary. The book is currently in its third edition and is published by American Vision in Atlanta, Georgia....
(which has since been made into a book) on a defense of placing the writing of the Book of Revelation during Nero's reign.
Partial Preterism is distinct from Full preterism, which holds that 'all' biblical prophecy was fulfilled in the past.
See also
- 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...
- PreterismPreterismPreterism 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...
- IdealismIdealism (Christian eschatology)Idealism in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of...
- HistoricismHistoricism (Christian eschatology)Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...
- Covenant theologyCovenant TheologyCovenant theology is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
- Christian Research InstituteChristian Research InstituteThe Christian Research Institute is an Evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin . In 1974 Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, California. The ministry's office was relocated in the 1990s near Rancho...
Further reading
- Andrew CorbettAndrew CorbettAndrew John Corbett is an English footballer, currently playing for Burton Albion. He was part of the Kidderminster Harriers youth system but found first team opportunities limited to seven appearances in the Football League, and moved to Solihull Borough. At Solihull he was a prolific striker and...
, "The Most Embarrassing Verse In The Bible" (ISBN 0-9775186-2-0) - R. C. SproulR. C. SproulRobert Charles Sproul, is a prominent American Calvinist theologian, author, and pastor of the Reformed tradition...
, The Last Days According to Jesus - David ChiltonDavid ChiltonDavid Harold Chilton was a Reformed pastor, Christian Reconstructionist, speaker, and author of several books on economics, eschatology and Christian Worldview from Placerville, California...
, Days of Vengeance - Gary DeMarGary DeMarGary DeMar is an American writer, lecturer and the president of American Vision, an American Christian nonprofit organization. The think-tank has a vision of "an America that recognizes the sovereignty of God over all of life and where Christians are engaged in every facet of society".-Family life...
, Last Days Madness:Obsession of the Modern Church (ISBN 0-915815-35-4) - Kenneth GentryKenneth GentryKenneth L. Gentry, Jr. is a Reformed theologian, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly. He is particularly known for his support for and publication on the topics of partial preterism and postmillennialism in Christian eschatology, as well as for theonomy...
, Before Jerusalem Fell - Hank HanegraaffHank HanegraaffHendrik "Hank" Hanegraaff also known as the Bible Answer Man is an American author, radio talk-show host and advocate of evangelical Christianity. He was born in the Netherlands and raised in the United States since childhood. He is married with 12 children...
, The Last Disciple (ISBN 0842384383), "The Apocalypse Code" (ISBN 0849901847) - Hugh J. SchonfieldHugh J. SchonfieldHugh Joseph Schonfield was a British Bible scholar specializing in the New Testament and the early development of the Christian religion and church. He was born in London, and educated there at St Paul's School and King's College, doing postgraduate religious studies in Glasgow, Doctor of Sacred...
, The Original New Testament (ISBN 1 86204 252 7) - N. T. Wright, "Jerusalem in the New Testament" (1994)