PRETERISM = ALICE-IN-WONDERLAND HERMENEUTICS
PRETERISM = ALICE-IN-WONDERLAND HERMENEUTICS
(trying to make Daniel 9 already fulfilled long ago)
Anyone who trusts the Lord Jesus (having Him properly defined) as Savior is a Christian ("whosoever believes") and my brother in Christ. Christians do not agree on eschatology (the future in prophecy). It does not bother me when a brother disagrees with me on eschatology (a-, pre-, mid-, Post-Toastie). It does bother me when someone gets on his high horse and attacks a Christian for disagreeing with Him on eschatology, as if that were heresy. And I have not seen that in this thread.
If you took Spanish, you know what the preterite tense is (past). Thus preterism tries to establish that what many regard as future prophecy is in fact already fulfilled long ago. Having said that, I confess that Preterism is Alice-in-Wonderland hermeneutics. There are apparently quite a variety of different Preterist positions. I discovered that fact by looking at the PreteristArchive site, a wonderful site with freely downloadable theological works. But a through-going preterist would deny that there is any future prophecy whatsoever to be fulfilled, denying even that a return of Christ is predicted (serious error).
IMHO:
By searching the internet, you can find a ton of material for & against preterism. But what it boils down to largely is trying to force the fulfillment of prophecy to the first century AD, particularly the cross and AD 70. This requires tortuous twisting of truth expressed in prophecy, allegorical interpretation. Probably much more will be learned on this topic by looking at internet sites for & against, instead of trying to settle this on a thread in this forum.
Rev 1 "Behold, he comes with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen."
This has not happened yet, nor:
But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 17 then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be raptured [rapiemur, harpagesometha, caught up] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. [end of 1 Th 4]
[Day of the Lord, the "tribulation," follows in 1 Thes 5].
The 70th Week of Daniel, by no stretch of imagination, has yet happened.