Preterist Eschatology

International Preterist Association (IPA)

Preterists believe that most or all of bible prophecy has already been fulfilled in Christ and the on-going expansion of His Kingdom.

The "Preterist" interpretation…is already represented in nearly all Protestant denominations and the Roman Church.
The final events of the redemptive drama came to pass in the first century within the apostles' generation (before A.D. 70).

Christ's kingdom is here now. Paradise has been restored in Christ (spiritually-speaking). We live in the Garden of Eden now (if we are in Christ), just as sure as we can know we have "eternal life."

Also see "What is Preterism?" at Planet Preterist

Preterism comes in a variety of flavors--partial, full, consistent, hyper, etc. It's not our goal to explain each type, rather we seek to identify the common thread found throughout all forms of this error.

Phil Johnson's Bookmarks (non-dispendational Reformed Baptist viewpoint)

Preterism suggests that the Tribulation prophecies of Matthew 24 were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But what you'll find here [The Preterist Achieve website] is not mere preterism; it's hyper-preterism (though the people who run this website prefer the term "consistent preterism").

Call it what you will; this view is heresy. It echoes the error of Hymenaeus and Philetus, who taught that the Second Coming was already past, thus overthrowing the faith of some (2 Tim. 2:17-18). Hyper-preterists teach that all New Testament prophecy is now fulfilled; the Lord has returned; and we now live in the New Heavens and New Earth. Sound bizarre? It is. Modern preterism is largely a reactionary movement against the fanaticism of premillennial end-times extremists.

Hyper-preterists react to the end-of-the-world doom-and-gloomers by running to an opposite extreme, but their fanaticism is actually driven by a similar spirit. Here's a rule of thumb: when you encounter someone whose whole view of theology is shaped and driven by any eschatalogical theory (be it pre- post- or a-millennial), so that eschatology becomes their primary concern, you've found a candidate for the "really bad theology" category.

L. S. Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. IV, p. 281

Antimillennialism: This strange theory, the origin of which is traced to the Romish (Roman Catholic) notion that the church is the kingdom, contends that whatever millennium there may be is being experienced in the present age. Its advocates interpret the book of Revelation as a description, or varied descriptions, of this church age.

In their unenviable attempt to fit all of the events anticipated in the Revelation into the history of this age, the amillennialists indulge in a form of speculation almost unsurpassed. Their abandonment of reason and sound interpretation has but one objective in mind, namely, to place “chilioi” (Greek for thousand) years—six times repeated in Revelation, chapter 20—back into the past and therefore something no longer to be anticipated in the future.

Miles J. Stanford, Spiritual Sharing Service (Tri-S) 7

Those who cannot recognize the full Fall, cannot repudiate Adam. They will even see the Last Adam as but a means of their getting back to the first Adam. Again J. B. Stoney probes this error to the quick:

"I do not see the Cross truly if I only see it as opening a way of escape for me, and yet allowing that in me to escape which has incurred the judgment." (Ministry, Vol. IX, p. 99)

The believer’s origin stems from Calvary, not from Eden. Actually, in the Father’s mind, his origin is in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). There is a severe drawback involved for those Christians who erroneously see their origin in Adam. Oriented to an earthly Adam, they become law-governed, kingdom-centered, legal, and earthbound. Unable to “rightly divide the word of truth,” they tend to be anti-dispensational, and amillennial.

It doesn't take very much theological contamination to make a believer very sick, who in turn may infect many other members of the body. Error is a malignancy that is extremely contagious!

Poison, under whatever name or title, is poison still.

List of leading contemporary Preterists:

Gary DeMar

Hank Hanegraaff

Gary North

Ken Gentry

Preterist Eschatology

WITHCHRIST.ORG