Argument against Preterism

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I have a friend who is into Preterism. It’s basically an off-shoot of extreme Calvinism that states that the Second Coming already happened with the fall of the temple in A.D.70. :rolleyes:

He also claims that the early church taught this doctrine and send me this link, which appears to have been put together by a schizophrenic in 1996, (preteristarchive.com/ChurchHistory/index.html) to prove his point.

So anyhow, every time I see him he wants to discuss it. Can anybody help me be a little more prepared for the discussion this time?

Many thanks!
 
Actually it’s not an off-shoot of Calvinism. Matter of fact it is antithetical to the reformed faith. Reformed doctrine actually requires certain future fulfillments that are not compatible with preterism. Now on the other hand if he is a partial preterist he can hold that view as a Calvinist.

Yes the early church did teach first century fulfillment.

Most people that come to a preterist understanding of Israel’s last days prophecies get pretty excited about it and want to tell everyone.

www.unravelingtheend.com is a very concise presentation of all the different major end-times views and a synthetic conclusion that I think seems to fit the best.

Good luck with your friend.
Jabronie said:
I have a friend who is into Preterism. It’s basically an off-shoot of extreme Calvinism that states that the Second Coming already happened with the fall of the temple in A.D.70. :rolleyes:

He also claims that the early church taught this doctrine and send me this link, which appears to have been put together by a schizophrenic in 1996, (preteristarchive.com/ChurchHistory/index.html) to prove his point.

So anyhow, every time I see him he wants to discuss it. Can anybody help me be a little more prepared for the discussion this time?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Jabronie-

Quite a few respected Catholic theologians hold a preterist or partial-preterist view - it doesn’t mean that the Second Coming has already occurred, it means that many of the prophetic statements of the NT were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

All Catholics (including those in the early Church) believe that the Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead, and that obviously has not happened yet, regardless of what your friend says (is he really saying the Second Coming has already taken place?)
 
NHInsider said:
Jabronie-

Quite a few respected Catholic theologians hold a preterist or partial-preterist view - it doesn’t mean that the Second Coming has already occurred, it means that many of the prophetic statements of the NT were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

All Catholics (including those in the early Church) believe that the Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead, and that obviously has not happened yet, regardless of what your friend says (is he really saying the Second Coming has already taken place?)
Click to expand...
Which Catholic theologians hold a preterist view? I could see someone using some “preterist sounding” language in reference to the Eucharist. “Chirt in the flesh is here, etc.”

As for the Second Coming, yes, his church teaches that it already happened and the creeds are wrong. According to him, the judgement of the living and dead has already taken place, and everyone is either “Elect” or damned, and nothing anyone does can change that.

My understanding is that that way of thinking comes from Calvin, not Luther, and certainly not the Catholic Church.
 
michaeljloomis said:
Actually it’s not an off-shoot of Calvinism. Matter of fact it is antithetical to the reformed faith. Reformed doctrine actually requires certain future fulfillments that are not compatible with preterism. Now on the other hand if he is a partial preterist he can hold that view as a Calvinist.

Yes the early church did teach first century fulfillment.

Most people that come to a preterist understanding of Israel’s last days prophecies get pretty excited about it and want to tell everyone.

www.unravelingtheend.com is a very concise presentation of all the different major end-times views and a synthetic conclusion that I think seems to fit the best.

Good luck with your friend.
Click to expand...
What you’re saying is interesting because he belongs to a Reformed church and comes from a Calvinist background, so I just assumed that preterism was a fringe Calvinist group.

So what is a partial preterist?
 
There are some reformed churches that do teach preterism…But preterist understanding goes all the way back to the early church fathers.

A partial preterist believes that every prophecy in the Bible has been fulfilled except for a final consummation at a future time in which Christ will return to earth, there will be a resurrection and judgment that then ushers in a final eternal state where evil no longer exists.

I believe that they would also say that the end-times spoken of in the Bible were speaking of the end of the old covenant temple worship system ultimately being abolished in the first century.

Mike
Jabronie said:
What you’re saying is interesting because he belongs to a Reformed church and comes from a Calvinist background, so I just assumed that preterism was a fringe Calvinist group.

So what is a partial preterist?
Click to expand...
 
Guys, for the record Mr. Loomis is a well known full preterist. Check out AD70.net. He is qualified to speak on matters of preterism. On matters of church history, though, I have yet to be convinced that the early church fathers believed in full preterism.
 
md81 said:
Guys, for the record Mr. Loomis is a well known full preterist. Check out AD70.net. He is qualified to speak on matters of preterism. On matters of church history, though, I have yet to be convinced that the early church fathers believed in full preterism.
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Thanks md81. I do tend to be more of what is referred to as a full-preterist. However…My views are currently in transition. But I’d still be more than happy to answer anyone’s questions they might have about the view.

Michael J Loomis 👍
 
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