Why the full preterist view must be true.

Nine Reasons Why The Full Preterist View Must Be True

A few Years back, Alan Bondar sponsored a seminar in Florida, with the theme suggested by the title above. Several speakers addressed various topics. The list below is a good succinct presentation of why the full preterist view is correct. I will not develop the points, but simply give them here, and ask that the reader carefully contemplate the claims.

1. Full preterism alone uses the grammatico-historical method of interpretation correctly and consistently
2. Full preterism takes time texts and audience relevance seriously.
3. Full preterism teaches that the New Testament uses the same prophetic language as the Old Testament to prophecy about local events.
4. Full preterism alone explains why man remains man after he dies biologically –Futurism actually leads to Gnosticism claiming that the biological body is still evil and must die. Full preterism is required by Paul’s response to the heresy of Hymanaeus and Philetus. The heresy was about Judaism still being required under law because the Temple was still standing. That heresy was destroyed in 70 AD. Are we to believe that the same heresy fought against by Paul can resurface again?
5. Full preterism alone explains why it is possible to go to heaven when we die.
6. Preterism must be true because if it’s not then the revelatory gifts are still in operation. Then there must still be infallible words of God being spoken/written. Then televangelist-prophets and/or the Pope are valid after all.
7. Full preterism does not have to manipulate the translation of the Greek text into English in order to maintain a view that does not fit the Greek text.
8. Full preterism eliminates the holes in every other eschatological view and brings all of the other eschatological views into unity, recognizing that each of the other views has portions that are correct because they truly are derived from Scripture, and not from systematics. Full preterism alone follows the teaching of Scripture that there is only one coming of Christ after His ascension.
9. Full preterism alone answers the accusations that Christ was a false prophet because he didn’t come when he said He would. Atheists and agnostics can read the Bible too. If the Bible does not mean what it says about the coming of Christ, then how can we be sure that anything else we think it says is true. If the skeptics aren’t right, then we have no grounds to validate any other doctrine taught in Scripture.

Full preterists and skeptics agree that if Jesus didn’t do what He said He would, when He said He would, then Jesus was a false prophet. However, skeptics draw the conclusion that Jesus was a false prophet. Full preterists draw the conclusion that Jesus did what He said He would, when He said He would. So we really don’t draw the same conclusions at all. We have the same premise, but we end up at totally different points.
10. Full preterism must be true because of its explanation of the millennium.
11. Full preterism must be true because it is the only eschatological paradigm that truly honors Israel as the key to eschatology.
Now, needless to say, volumes could be – and are—being written to more fully explain, confirm and defend the validity of these points. I urge the readers to investigate each of these points to see for yourself that they are true, and that Covenant Eschatology (the full preterist view) is truly the only valid view of the end times.