When I first came to see the time statements in the New Testament — that Christ’s coming in judgment was “soon,” “at hand,” and “about to take place” — I realized how much sense it made to understand these texts in their first-century context. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 fulfilled Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 and vindicated His warnings against that generation. But while this opened my eyes to the power of Preterism, I could never accept the claims of Full Preterism. Scripture itself draws boundaries that Full Preterism crosses, and those boundaries guard essential truths of the Christian faith.
First, the “comings” of Christ in judgment throughout the New Testament do not erase the promise of His final, bodily return. In passages like Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Revelation, Jesus spoke of His coming against Jerusalem — language rooted in the Old Testament where God “came” in judgment against nations. But Acts 1:11, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Thessalonians 4 point to something different: a visible, bodily return of Christ at the end of history, bringing the resurrection of the dead. Full Preterism collapses these categories, but Scripture maintains both — an imminent judgment in the first century, and a still-future hope of Christ’s return in glory.
Second, the resurrection is central to the gospel. Paul says that if there is no future resurrection of the body, then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12–19). Full Preterism insists the resurrection is only a spiritual reality already fulfilled, but Paul insists on something more: just as Christ was raised bodily, so too will His people be raised bodily (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). The hope of believers is not simply escaping judgment but being transformed, clothed in immortality, and dwelling with the Lord forever.
Third, the new creation promises go beyond the partial renewal already realized in Christ. While we enjoy the firstfruits of redemption now, the New Testament continually points us forward to the fullness of restoration — when death is finally destroyed, when the creation itself is set free from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:18–23), and when God’s dwelling is with His people in the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21). To claim that all of this is already fulfilled flattens the richness of our hope and undermines the forward-looking anticipation that Scripture repeatedly stirs in believers.
This is why I am a Partial Preterist. I see Christ’s words about judgment on Jerusalem fulfilled in AD 70 exactly as He said, vindicating His authority and proving the reliability of Scripture. But I also cling to the yet-future promises — Christ’s bodily return, the resurrection of the dead, and the renewal of all things. These are not minor details, but core truths of the Christian faith. Full Preterism denies them, but Partial Preterism allows us to honor both the near and the far, the already and the not yet, exactly as the Bible presents them.