I really don’t like labels in many cases. Labels often mischaracterize those to whom they are applied. Sometimes they can be used to properly define and summarize certain people, groups, or positions, but sometimes they are misleading because they either do not go far enough or they go too far in their definitions.
Preterism or preterist is one of these label-words I don’t care for. It is a Latin word which means emphasizing, focusing on, or favoring the past (from preter) and distinctive in teaching, theory, or practice (from ism).
Having said this, those who go by or identify themselves as preterists are those who believe that the prophecies and teachings of Jesus and His apostles about His second coming have been fulfilled, from one degree to another. (Hence, Preterism: His second coming has occurred.) Some believe these prophecies, and their concurrent teachings, have been completely fulfilled and some (probably most) believe that they have been partially fulfilled, with even this partial fulfillment varying from one degree to another.
Even in the least degree of fulfillment, Preterism stands much closer to the honor of God than does futurism, with its belief in the ongoing evil age and the awaited second coming of Jesus Christ.
Before I give my word to preterists, I hope that one day superfluous labels will disappear. This is because they really do not give to God the glory due His Name. The honor of articulation is lacking. Articulation is declared in the mighty acts of God. This is understood when you evaluate these declarations. “I am a Preterist” against “I believe Jesus has come in His glory” and/or “I believe God’s Kingdom has come.” Many other illustrations like this could be given. Here are two others:
“I am a Calvinist” (which is really a terrible label since it carries a lot of man-made baggage) against “I believe God predestined His chosen to be conformed to the image and works of His Son Jesus.”
“I am a Protestant” (which is also a terrible label since it carries a lot of man-made baggage) against “I believe the saved are saved by grace alone through faith alone.”
The second reason that I hope that one day these labels fall is because they tend to divide while they even misrepresent the people to whom that are applied. It is a given fact that people don’t know what they think they know until explication and understanding have been realized.
To the “preterists”: First, endeavor to dispense with the label for the reasons already given. (I’ll keep using it in this article in the desire to get rid of it.)
In other matters; yours, like with all believers, is the complete inheritance, whether they believe it or not. However, many preterists are really futurists from one degree to another. They should be properly called Partial-preterists. Their preterism consists mainly in emphasizing the truth that Jesus returned in glory in AD 70 and ended (and fulfilled) the sacrificial system of the Law of Moses. Yet, they maintain certain other prominent features of the Mosaic Law, most important of which is the ongoing expectation of the end of sin and death. This is disempowering! This condition is exactly like a pauper who has a rich inheritance already in the bank and yet does not know about his inheritance. Therefore, he does not acquire his inheritance for his well-being. The authority and the power of sin and death are over! When Jesus returned, He not only ended the sacrifices of the Temple, He also ended the authority, reality, and function of sin and death as opposing power to His people! This ongoing struggle with all sin was a major function of the sacrificial system of Moses. Ours now is the full right and the full responsibility to not sin. Futurism and partial-preterism both have as their functional mindset a certain divesting struggle mentality. The difference between the reality of knowing God’s Kingdom as come and the illusion of waiting for His Kingdom to come is like that between a confident mature man and an inexperienced immature child regarding spiritual things. Waiting for complete overcoming strength carries within itself a fixed underlying degree of inherent weakness. As you are what you eat, so you live in your expectations or realizations. Not only is your faith directly impacted, but God’s glory is too. Partial-preterism, like futurism, does not give to God the honor, glory, and praise due to Him for the great things that He has done! The Age of sin and death are no more! The domain of darkness has been thrown down! God has accomplished these things. His Kingdom has come! All glory and obedience to His Name!
Partial-preterism also tries very hard to fit the gathered function of its confessors into the old-order Mosaic synagogal system. Jesus ended all aspects unique to the Law of Moses when He returned. The assemblies of Jesus that functioned in the last days of the Law were structured on the Jewish synagogues. A more accurate way to define the Christian assemblies then under Jesus and His apostles is to call them Christian synagogues. That is, indeed, what they were with the added improvements over the Jewish synagogues of having the various gifts of apostles, prophets, good-message tellers, shepherds who taught the word, and deacons (servants) added in the place of the Jewish rulers of their synagogues.
Another feature unknown in the Jewish synagogues were the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed among the members of the Christian synagogues, including their distribution among women. This was a group of signs that the last days of the Age of Moses had come. While Preterists don’t mainly function in this area, this is the place to address this as it bears upon Jesus fulfilling and superseding all of the Law. When Jesus returned in glory He fulfilled the purpose of ALL heavenly gifts in the same way that He fulfilled the sacrificial system! Paul said, “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. And He gave some indeed as apostles, some as prophets, some as good-message tellers, some as pastors and teachers, toward the complete furnishing of the holy ones for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full-knowledge of the Son of God, to a complete man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
The spiritual gifts in the body of Christ that were fully functional in the Christian synagogues have reached their terminal point. The goal has been reached! The gifts are fulfilled! They are archaic now. The Christian synagogues with all their functionality have all been fulfilled in the coming of the Kingdom of God. To try to revive any of the gifts of the old order is to go backwards. In fact, any revival is purely fleshly. These “revived” gifts are now counterfeit; all of them! The One Who bestowed the gifts has fully come. People who do not prescribe to the Pentecostal interpretation of how they should live and worship often properly evaluate the supernatural gifts of speaking in tongues, interpretation of the same, prophesying, etc. as counterfeit and as expressions of the flesh. Even though they reach this conclusion via ways of erroneous interpretations, they are correct that they have been completed. While most of these groups believe that the supernatural gifts of apostles and prophets have been fulfilled (they give various inconsistent reasons for their convictions), they fail to understand that their cherished supernatural gifts of pastors, teachers, elders, overseers, and deacons have also been fulfilled in the coming of Kingdom of God, wherein Jesus Christ fills all things and through Whom God is ALL in all! This is fulfillment that Preterists have not understood. Trying to fit the function of the Kingdom of God into the church model is like trying to put a round peg in a square hole. Jesus Himself now is the Apostle, having accomplished His mission from God. He is the Prophet, Whose prophecies have been fulfilled, He is the Good Message fulfilled as His Name is the Word of God. He is the Shepherd Who Teaches. He is the Elder Who decides. He is the Overseer Who rules. And, He is the Servant and Helper of all.
One of the most Spirit quenching aspects of this forced maintenance is the stifling of the function and ministries of women. Men have divested themselves of tremendous riches and honor in quieting the teaching voices and functioning services of their sisters in Jesus Christ, who also have received the full inheritance of sonship! Not only so, but God is greatly dishonored through men, who should know better, pushing hard to close doors that He has permanently opened.
Finally, I will end here by focusing on the great aspects of honor, glory, power, and praise which are due to God. In the proper worship of God, these all stand together in holy unity. The proper ascription and the high praise that is now due to the Lord Almighty in Heaven is the telling, blessing, and thanking Him for all of His mighty deeds which He has now accomplished in fulfilling all of His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, Jahveh is Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Beginning and End, and ALL in all! Jesus is Author and Perfecter of all believing in God. All of heaven do and all the earth should magnify the Lord for all of the great things that He has accomplished.
Preterists, make sure that your faith and walk are mainly unlike a respectful museum tour of acknowledging the works of God and instead join with the eternal Heaven and Earth in fully winged worship and praise out of lives of purity and cleanness grounded in the holy and sinless fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have all arrived in the unity of the faith, and of the full-knowledge of the Son of God, to a complete man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Amen! – Glory to God in the Highest! – God is ALL in all! – Amen!