A further example of partial-preterism weakness as it comes to defending the future Second Coming of Christ: See this list (picture below) of 18 things that cannot have happened in 70AD, presented by partial-preterist Steve Gregg at the beginning of his book against full-preterism.
Month: July 2024
Relating to the shortage of Second Coming specific Bible verses amongst partial-preterists: I think it’s very revealing to read the ‘A Statement on Unorthodox Eschatology’ (a good statement btw, I’m glad they did it) which was signed by major partial-preterist leaders (Gentry, Durbin, Wilson, Sandlin, Kayser, etc.) and also some non-preterists, to make a strong statement against the unbiblical and unorthodox nature of full-preterism. I agree with the statement, but I think it’s still woefully weak in biblical support for the Second Coming. What do I mean? Well, first of all, when writing a statement against full-preterism, you would obviously include the most thorough list of biblical proof you have, right? Certainly it would be strange to do anything less.
Partial-preterism is poisonous, because it greatly weakens the biblical witness to the glorious second coming of Christ. How so? By assigning MANY second coming passages to 70AD, and thereby twisting their glorious promise.
Let me give one example: See here an excellent quote (picture below) from the well respected Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck. Notice how when speaking here about the glorious promised return of Christ to earth, he appeals to two passages as main evidence: Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7. Excellent primary passages indeed! However, this is something a partial-preterist could NOT do, since these verses (and many more) have in their view already been fulfilled in 70AD. They do still believe in an actual future return also (hence partial, not full), but they have a lot less Bible passages that speak about it.
What does a partial-preterist view of Revelation 1:7 and 22:20 look like? (verses, which present the main theme of the book as the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ)
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)
“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)
For anyone insterested to see a clear example of how leading partial-preterists deal with Revelation 22:20. Here’s an example from Kenneth Gentry’s new Revelation commentary (see attached image below). Notice how Gentry says NOTHING about Revelation 22:20 being mainly (or even partially) about the second coming! Rather, Gentry states “Jesus is here [Revelation 22:20] referring to his judgment-coming in AD 70.
