Topic(s):  Eternity & Judgment, Philosophy

Todd Clippard

(Editors note: For those unfamiliar with the doctrine of preterism, it is the idea that all biblical prophecy concerning the kingdom and second coming of Jesus were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.)

This is a difficult question to answer. Preterism is much like premillennialism - there are nearly as many differing ideas on it as there are men who believe it.

I am not a preterist. Unlike preterism, I do not believe all biblical prophecy was realized in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem. However, neither am I a futurist as I do believe in the present establishment of the kingdom of God = the church. Though some might describe me as an amillennialist, I guess I would call myself a scriptural millennialist.

I haven't studied the preterist position for some years now, but I would highly recommend anyone interested in studying this false view of eschatology to obtain and study a copy of Wayne Jackson's book, The A.D. 70 Theory. It is a thorough refutation of this doctrine which is closely related to many of the preterist doctrines. It can be located by going to www.courierpublications.com

There are also a number of articles dealing with preterism on Jackson's www.christiancourier.com website. Among them are:
www.christiancourier.com/archives/symbolicResurrection.htm
www.christiancourier.com/archives/brokenSword_3.htm
www.christiancourier.com/archives/ad70.htm

These archived articles were found by going to www.christiancourier.com and typing “Max King” (the most prominent preterist among the churches of Christ) in the search window on the main page. There are dozens more dealing with various aspects of preterism. We are thankful to brother Jackson for his thorough and excellent refutation of this false doctrine.