Full Preterismclaims all scriptures fulfilled by 70AD. Often quoting as a pretense Matthew 5:18, where Jesus said “truly I say
to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or
stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” and Luke 21:22 when Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, failing to realize the text is making reference to "all things written pertaining to His wrath and vengeance" upon the Great Whore not all things written period. Besides that the NT was probably not even written yet when Christ spoke those very words. They shorten the parousia or presence of Christs' reign to a few short years before 70AD and put us now in the "God becomes all in all" described in 1 Cor 15:28b. They will claim all of 1 Cor 15:24-27 are fulfilled and Christ has no enemies now. All you have to do is look around to know this is not the case. Full Preterist have been accused of spiritualizing important aspects of life such as pain, sorrow, death and even the kingdom along with resurrection. Trying to stay faithful to their "all things fulfilled by AD70 or the destruction of the old jewish covenant paradigm" they cram in all prophecy written, missing some very important events in God's plan of salvation. These are serious allegations that cannot be adequately reconciled to scripture. The Bible describes our hope of resurrection, in what will be our glorified state as far from ethereal and far beyond the scope of this present reality.
Partial Preterism denies the Parousia of Christ which includes resurrection of the saints has occurred. Leaving the old and new testament saints still sleeping awaiting resurrection. These raise serious dilemmas which deny Christs' kingship up until now, the apostles and first century saints' imminent anticipation of something much greater to them than just the destruction of the old jewish covenant system and the new promises it would bring, but the actual ultimate hope and fulfillment of those promises within their generation i.e. resurrection. It also denies the many time statements which imply more than the destruction of Jerusalem, but their deliverance. In this one of many passages, specifically refers to them receiving their "promise". Hebrews 10:36-37 states "36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." According to the Partial Preterism view He has been tarrying for almost 2000 years now, because this is just another passage on the destruction of Jerusalem to them, once again denying resurrection came as they expected. The Partial Preterist will assert we are under the new covenant because Christ said "it is finished" which we agree, but their belief system puts them still in the old. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ was essential for the new covenant to be established; but the other simultaneous events could not be left undone and still hold up to the exegesis of the text.
We don't think so!
Both the Partial and Full views are too problematic turning many with dispensational views away from preterism altogether and even turning preterists to seek other alternatives, such as the recent new camp labeled Preterist Idealismwhich claims things just keep repeating in an endless cycle because it realizes God's plan for Christians carries on past 70AD. To break down the hybrid term according to this approach to the nation of Israel, some in this camp will put it: the natural "Israel after the flesh" can be considered "Preterist Israel", whereas the eternal "Israel of God" would be "Idealist Israel". This may have some truth to it, but it certainly does not layout the prophetic plan in the Bible. Why not just get back to the Bible with its endless treasures of new revelation? If we believe that God's Word is inexhaustible we should believe we we will find new revelation.
Furthermore, if Christ is not ruling and reigning and if his re-appearances after entering the Holy of Holies i.e. the Heavenly Temple has not occurred, then resurrection and his millennial reign have not occurred either and that causes serious exegetical problems whether the Partial Preterist realizes this now or not. If Christ is not yet king and our high priest then John was not under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he wrote in Rev. 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." Why are the dead blessed from henceforth? Because they no longer soul sleep in the dust, but are immediately resurrected into the kingdom! Or Rev. 3:11 states "Behold, I come quickly (original Greek means without delay): hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown". They were expecting a crown signifying an imminent kingdom reign.
Partial Preterism also asserts that everytime you see the word "coming" it does not imply Messiahs' second coming failing to recognize or at the least misunderstanding the significance of the Greek meaning that usually refers to his "parousia" or "presence" which any Greek speaking person will tell you has a vast difference in meaning. In postponing Christs' parousia they assert that all the statements of imminency made by our Lord and the Apostles only refers to God's wrath on Jerusalem. Often it does, but we claim many of the statements of imminency they made was their anticipation of the first ressurection of the saints! You say how is that possible, we still have pain, sorrow, suffering and death and the lion doesn't lie down with the lamb? For an attempt to answer this read our article "The New Heaven and Earth".
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