Partial Preterism

According to Partial Preterism, most of the eschatological (end-times) prophecies commonly regarded as future events—such as the Olivet Discourse, the Great Tribulation, and the events in the book of Revelation—have already been fulfilled in the past, mainly in connection with events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (the term preterism derives from the Latin praeter, meaning ‘past’ or ‘beyond’).

Unlike the unorthodox teachings of Full Preterism, Partial Preterism maintains a belief in a literal future return of Jesus Christ, a physical resurrection of the dead, and a final judgment. Partial Preterist beliefs are, therefore, well within the scope of Christian orthodoxy. Most Partial Preterists correctly view Full Preterism as a departure from traditional orthodoxy.

The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70, by David Roberts (1796–1864), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Partial Preterists are sometimes accused by Futurists of allegorizing the text instead of taking the Scriptures literally. Yet, when it comes to taking certain time references at face value, it is actually the Preterists, rather than the Futurists, who read the Bible literally. When Jesus prophesied in the Olivet Discourse that “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matt. 24:34) he was addressing the audience directly in front of him. Futurists must interpret these words non-literally when applying them to a distant, future generation.

On the other hand, the apocalyptic language of the Olivet Discourse may well not be taken literally, as the Scriptures analogously use symbolic language when describing the historical downfall of empires like Babylon (Isa. 13:10, 13) or Egypt (Isa. 19:1, Eze. 32:7-8).

It should be noted that Partial Preterism strictly requires a pre-70 AD date of authorship for the Book of Revelation. While the book itself does not explicitly mention its date of composition, it contains certain internal clues, such as the Seven Kings mentioned in Revelation 17: “Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while” (Rev. 17:10). Yet although a dating of Revelation prior to 70 AD seems highly plausible, the overall evidence prevents it from being established conclusively and this remains a weak point of the Partial Preterist view.

Although Partial Preterism is not the majority view, many orthodox theologians and Bible scholars of both the past and present have held some sort of Partial Preterist view. These include: Eusebius of Caesarea, John Lightfoot, Hugo Grotius, Moses Stuart, F.W. Farrar, J. Marcellus Kik, R.C. Sproul, R.T. France, Greg Bahnsen, Jay E. Adams, Keith A. Mathison, N.T. Wright, Kenneth Gentry, Bruce Gore, Steve Gregg, Gavin Ortlund.