What to Make of Hyper-Preterism

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done.So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new’? Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still.”

Hyper-Preterism, or Preterism (not to be confused with Partial-Preterism), is a recurrence of the Hymenaen Heresy and various forms of Gnosticism – truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Interestingly enough, Preterists assert that they, like the Gnostics have discovered a system of theology containing special knowledge which none of the other Church Fathers managed to comprehend. Preterism is very simply a fulfilled eschatology. They believe that all prophecy, including Revelation has been fulfilled and leave the believer without a canon of scripture that applies.

The pivotal point in history for the Preterist is 70AD with the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans. It is at this event that they include the Glorious Return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Resurrection of the dead, and the creation of the new heavens and new earth. The hook, line and sinker used to embracePreterism is to ignore the nature of the events involved and focus solely on “time indicators,” which claim to determine the timing of the abovementioned events. The Preterist’s hermeneutic for interpretation is this: the timing of an event determines the nature of an event. Of course, this is backwards because it allows one’s interpretation of the timing to overrule the clear teachings in Scripture that explain the events themselves.

To demonstrate very simply that Preterism is Hymenaen and Gnostic, I’d like to direct your attention to what the Apostle Paul said in his second letter to Timothy 2:14-19, “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’” What exactly were Hymenaeus and Philetus referring to when they claimed “the resurrection has already taken place?” Certainly they were not referring to Lazarus being raised from the dead in John 11, the resurrection of the many saintsin Matthew 27:51-54, or the resurrection of our Lord. Hymenaeus and Philetus referred to the Resurrection of the dead, both of the believer and the unbeliever having "already taken place" (Hymenaenism). The only way they could have said that it happened in the past is to redefine the Resurrection to have been a spiritual resurrection. And this is just what Preterism does...redefine the Resurrection to have been a spiritual resurrection that occurred in 70AD. It is here that we see a prominent Gnostic teaching of a spiritual resurrection. The clever Preterist however, is quick to point out that 2 Timothy was written before 70AD, so the condemnation the Apostle places upon Hymenaeus and Philetus cannot apply to them. However, a principal is presented by the Apostle Paul which is used to determine whether one is included in the Christian faith. The principal is that those who say that the Resurrection has taken place when indeed it has not, are excluded from the Christian faith.

Other Gnostic tendencies taught by Preterisminvolve their teaching about the state of creation, the current state of Christ, and the Glorious Return of the Lord Jesus. Preterism does recognize the teaching of Scripture that emphasizes Christ’s Glorious Return ending the curse that fell upon Adam and imputed to all his descendants. It is the effects of the Fall of Adam that Preterists attempt to dispute. The effects of the Fall are found in Genesis 3:16-19, 24, “To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ To Adam He said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'you shall not eat from it'; cursed is the ground because of you; toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ‘Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” Notice the effects of the Fall: childbirth increases in pain, the ground is cursed with thorns and thistles, by the sweat of our face will we eat, and we end in physical death returning to dust. Because the Preterist believes the Resurrection is spiritual, which does not solve the physical effects of the Fall, they attempt to prove that the Fall did not include what is recorded in Genesis 3. In fact, the Gnostic teaching Preterism has adopted here is that God created the universe with death and destruction, the reason being quite obvious: God then only must resurrect the soul, and not cure the physical.

The doctrine of Christ is also compromised by Preterists in a way only seen elsewhere in Gnosticism. Preterists deny that Christ currently has His resurrected, glorified body. The doctrine of Christ is that He is the God-Man. Christ simply was not the God-Man in the past, but His current state is as the God-Man. In fact we see the resurrected body of our Lord in Luke 24:36-43. And in Acts 1:9-11 we read, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”The Lord Jesus not only bodily ascended into Heaven, but is said by the angels to return in the same way He left them. Nothing in Scripture indicates the Lord’s body dissipated as He went through the clouds. This passage also clearly demonstrates that Christ will return physically, contrary to the Gnostic and Preterist teaching that His return was a spiritual one.

In regards to the Resurrection, Preterism denies the redemption of the whole man – body and soul. Christ did not come to redeem us from our mortal bodies, but rather to reverse the curse brought onto our body and soul. The Lord Jesus said in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” The question I would ask the Preterist is, “What exactly was in the tombs that heard Jesus’ voice?” The answer is obvious: mortal bodies that would come forth. Going further on the subject, our Lord said in John 6:39, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” Christ was the “first fruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23) of the Resurrection, and in Roman 6:5 we read, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, “The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” The teaching of Scripture is that our resurrection will be just like the resurrection of the man from heaven – Christ. Because the Resurrection is tied to the coming of Christ, and we do not see the Resurrection having happened in 70AD, we know our Lord has not yet returned. Christ certainly would “lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”

The importance of the doctrine of the Resurrection cannot be overlooked. It is not enough to say that you believe in a resurrection. For other cults like the Latter-day Saints, and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society affirm some form of a resurrection – but these do not affirm the Biblical doctrine of the Resurrection. Paul comments in 1 Corinthians 15:12-17, “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” If one denies the Resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then we are still dead in our sins, our faith having been in vain.

Not only is the coming of Christ tied to the Resurrection, but it is also tied to the Day of Judgment. Acts 17:30-31, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Hebrews 9:27-28, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Also refer back to John 5:28-29). The Bible speaks of the Day of Judgment in very plain language. 2 Peter 3:10-13, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” In order to get around the literal intent of this passage, the stamp of “This is Judgment Language” is placed upon it, allowing one to interpret it non-literally. This is not to say that all prophetic language is to be interpreted literally. But in 2 Peter 3:6 the Day of Judgment is compared to the flood of Noah’s day. Are we to interpret the flood as the Preterist hermeneutic would instruct us to? Was it real water that flooded the whole earth, or was it symbolic water? The Preterist hermeneutic would constrain us to interpret 2 Peter 3 as symbolic, because it is a passage involving judgment. But because we recognize the flood as a literal event, we also affirm Peter’s comparison, which speaks of the earth and its works being burned up.

Hyper-Preterism, like any cult, primarily produces converts from those who believe in what is called solo scriptura, in contrast to sola scriptura. Solo Scriptura on the surface may appear like the Biblical doctrine of Sola Scriptura, yet has some opposing aspects. Solo Scriptura pictures the man alone in the woods with his Bible. Sola Scriptura tests all things by Scripture, yet embraces the function of the local church. Many Preterists seek to persuade others of this damnable heresy in secret, undermining the role of the local church in the life of the believer. The author of Hebrews comments in13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” Paul also discusses this in his farewell to the Ephesians in Acts 20:28-30, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Keep in mind that Hyper-Preterists desire to be included in the Christian faith, as most cults do in the beginning. They are a disorganized movement that ultimately will lead to the ruin of those who follow. I do recognize the possibility for regenerated men to be deceived for a time, but the truly born-again believer will not persevere in a damnable heresy such as Hyper-Preterism. 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” I will conclude by again quoting the Apostle Paul from 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’” Amen.