Preterism

Preterism is a variant of Christian eschatology which deals with the position of past-fulfilment of the Last Days (or End Times) prophecies in varying degrees. The term preterism is derived from the word preterite, or past perfect tense; it also has its roots in the Latin word præter, meaning "past." Adherents of Preterism are known as Preterists.

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Preterist eschatology, however, is not monolithic. There are two major schools of Preterist thought:

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: Partial Preterism, and

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: Full Preterism.

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These different schools of Preterism have been described in various ways. Some adherents of Partial Preterism call their own position Orthodox Preterism to designate its conformity to the historic, ecumenical Creeds of the Christian Church (in contrast to Full Preterism). Other labels for Partial Preterism include Classical Preterism and Moderate Preterism. Adherents of Full Preterism prefer either Full Preterism or Consistent Preterism in an appeal to its claim that all biblical prophecy was fulfilled in the first century AD; as such, Full Preterists believe Partial Preterists are inconsistent in their hermeneutic, or method of biblical interpretation.

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There are two additional minor schools of preterist thought, the first being a variation of Partial Preterism which places fulfillment of some eschatological passages in the first three centuries, culminating in the fall of Rome. The Historical-Critical school is sometimes considered a second variation of Preterism; it can be found in certain liberal schools of thought which hold that the biblical record accurately reflects Jesus' and the Apostles' belief that all prophecy was to be fulfiled within their generation. However, according to this school, these prophecies never came to pass, thus proving the non-inspiration of the biblical text and the non-divinity of Jesus Christ. As "preterism" indicates fulfillment, one should not label the Historical-Criticism "preterist."

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