Preterism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

  1. A theological view interpreting certain prophecies as events that have already occurred in the past ; a belief that many biblical predictions were fulfilled in historical times rather than in the future ; an outlook that the significant prophetic revelations relate to previous eras rather than yet-to-come periods
  2. An interpretive approach that sees specific prophetic passages as reflecting occurrences in earlier history ; a doctrine asserting that many apocalyptic texts describe events completed before the present ; a perspective identifying past historical fulfillment of prophecies often thought to be futuristic
  3. A stance in religious study holding that key prophetic scriptures pertain to past events ; a theory proposing that various foretold happenings have already been realized historically ; a concept focusing on the past fulfillment of visions and predictions mentioned in sacred texts

Etymology: Preterism is a plain formation: "preterit" (the grammatical past tense, from Latin "praeteritus," meaning "gone past") with the suffix "-ism," which in English turns a base into a doctrine, system or practice. The result names the belief that prophecies, especially those in the Bible's books of Daniel and Revelation, were already fulfilled in the past, most often in the events surrounding the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The sense is thus built directly into the parts: the prophecy is treated as something that has already happened, so its meaning lies in history rather than the future. The contrast with its opposite is what gives the term its usefulness in theological debate. Believers in the view that prophecies remain to be fulfilled are called futurists, and the two positions divide much of modern discussion of apocalyptic texts. Preterism itself comes in forms: partial preterists see some prophecies, such as the Second Coming, as still ahead, while full preterists hold that all of them, including the resurrection, have already occurred.

Synonyms: partial preterism, full preterism

Antonyms: futurism, preterition