A Critique of Full Preterism Study Notes

Definition of Full Preterism

The terms "Full Preterism," "Consistent Preterism," "Hyper-Preterism," "Radical Preterism," and "Hymenaenism" have all been used with varying degrees of positive or negative connotations to define the same system of thought. A simplistic definition of a Full Preterist is a person who believes that all the prophecies of the Scripture have been fulfilled. Full Preterism has at least the following characteristics:

1. A belief that the Second Coming of Christ has already occurred and no further bodily appearing is expected;

2. A belief that the resurrection has already happened and that therefore there will be no future physical resurrection of our present mortal bodies;

3. A belief that the final judgment of all men has already taken place (in 70 AD), the time when the separation of the goats and sheep (Matt. 25) took place, and that there is to be no future day of judgment for all mankind.

Full Preterism is truly a unique system of eschatology with a unique hermeneutical approach to many passages. Full Preterists are not to be confused with those who teach a preteristic (fulfilled in the past) interpretation of some passages. All orthodox theologians have taken a preteristic interpretation of many prophetic passages (primarily those related to Christ's first coming, but also to passages prophesying Christ's judgment in 70 AD). In contrast to orthodoxy, Full Preterism teaches that all prophecy has been fulfilled. This paper is not an exposition of the system, but an elucidation of some of the key heretical teachings.

The Heretical Implications of Full Preterism

Full Preterists agree that the impact of this doctrine touches far more than just eschatology. Full Preterist John Noe says,

"Indeed, a correct view of this consummated reality truly does matter. The consequences of misunderstanding or saying that this resurrection hasn't happened yet are devastating."¹

Conversely the apostle Paul assures us that to believe that the resurrection is past is devastating since it has the potential to "overthrow the faith" and "spread like cancer" (2Tim. 2:17-18). The following quotes demonstrate the reality of this in several areas of doctrine.²

Christology

Nature of Christ's resurrection body

Full Preterist quotes

"Christ was resurrected not so much by the act of reanimating His earthly body, but by escaping Death and Hades... Christ's reanimation of His earthly form wasn't the resurrection itself; it was the byproduct — and proof — of His resurrection. And even Christ was not raised to be 'in the flesh'."³

"He was raised into the same body He used before He died. This was done to prove to the disciples that He had kept His word... He now appeared to His followers at need, having the same properties as the angels."⁴

Scripture that is contradicted

"'Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence." (Luke 24:39-43)

"Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne." (Acts 2:30)

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2:19-21)

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Rom. 8:11)

"For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." (Eph. 5:30)

Nature of Christ's mediatorial reign

Full Preterist quotes

"Almost all full preterists believe the millennium occurred during the period from AD 30-70, and that Christ returned in AD 70 at the end of that millennial period."⁵

"The 40-year transition period was a period of 'already, but not yet.' When Christ returned at AD 70 He finished crushing the enemies of His Father's reign, took the kingdom away from them, gave it back to the Father to whom it belonged, then sat down at His right side to rule eternally with Him."⁶

Scripture that is contradicted

"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all... Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed---in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"   The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:20-28,50-58)

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:7-15)

Anthropology

A low view of our present bodies

Full Preterist quotes

"We are not interested in this old body surviving."⁷

"Our emotional attachment to them [our bodies] will be no different than our attachment to those body parts we cut off and discarded last week -- hair, fingernails, etc."⁸

"...when the shell is discarded, a new and better form can be inhabited."⁹

"Look carefully at what the resurrection of the body is called in Rom. 8:23b. '...also we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly expecting adoption, the redemption of our body.' The Greek word for 'redemption' is APOLUTRO. It means 'to be set free from.' Here, Paul is referring to eagerly awaiting to be set free from our bodies! Sounds like a new creation to me."¹⁰

Scripture that is contradicted

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!" (1 Cor. 6:15)

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

"Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." (Rom. 8:23)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Rom. 12:1)

"For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." (Eph. 5:29)

A defective view of Adam and Eve's pre-fall bodies

Full Preterist quotes

"This infers that Adam and Eve would have physically died even if they hadn't sinned and been cast out of the garden."¹¹

"'For it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this to face the judgment' (Heb 9:27). That [physical life] wasn't lost in Adam, therefore, it's not restored in Christ, nor will it be."¹²

"Physical death of the old physical body remains the natural consequence of being created human."¹³

Scripture that is contradicted

"Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': ... to dust you shall return." (Gen. 3:17-19)

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." (Rom. 5:12)

"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses..." (Rom. 5:14)

"For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one..." (Rom. 5:17)

A defective view of our resurrection bodies

Full Preterist quotes¹⁴

"It is not the physical body which is raptured. It is the Christian himself who is raptured as he leaves his body behind and takes on a new body forever."¹⁵

"Paul calls the resurrection body, which God 'gives' a believer in Heaven, a 'spiritual body' (1 Cor. 15:38,44), not a 'resurrected (physical) body.'"

"That's the discontinuity between Jesus' resurrection and ours. He was the only one promised His same earthly body back, the one that was nailed to the cross. It was changed into a resurrected body that was similar yet quite different from His natural body. All Jesus' followers, however, receive a new spiritual body that is like Jesus' resurrected body. That's a continuity. But it is not an old resurrected physical body."¹⁶

"It does not say that we shall be raised in exactly the same manner as Christ. In fact, what is implicit here is that we shall not be raised in the same way."¹⁷ (Commenting on 1 Cor. 15, emphasis Harden's.)

"This [Luke 20:34-36] shows that after the resurrection at A.D. 70 in the afterlife, the state of man is like that of the angels.¹⁸ Angels are spiritual creatures, members of the heavenly realm. Can they be seen, touched, handled? Not under normal conditions."¹⁹

"Sproul's fallacy here is in thinking that the term body must of necessity be physical."²⁰

"His work of resurrection has nothing to do with reconstituting decomposed or alive human bodies at some unscriptural 'end of time.' This tradition of men, like others before, has made the word of God of little or no effect..."²¹

Scripture that is contradicted

"And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God..." (Job. 19:26)

"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. 12:2)

"Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (Isa. 26:19)

"...the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many." (Matt. 27:52)

"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth..." (John 5:28)

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Rom. 8:11)

"The body is sown in corruption, it is raise in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Cor. 15:42-44)

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:23)

"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. 6:5; compare with Luke 24:39-43 and 1 Cor. 15:12-23)

Cosmology

Death and decay not result of the fall but result of Creation

Full Preterist quotes

"... physical death was part of creation from the beginning."²²

"That [physical life] wasn't lost in Adam, therefore it's not restored in Christ, nor will it be."²³

"Physical death of the old physical body remains the natural consequence of being created human."²⁴

"The question is whether physical death was the 'Death' God judicially threatened on the day of Adam's disobedience, or whether physical death was the natural consequence of being human and made from dust."²⁵

Scripture that is contradicted

See Genesis 3:14-19 for curse on cattle, every beast of the field, etc. But especially note the following:

"Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.'" (Gen. 3:17-19)

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." (Rom. 5:12)

"For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one...." (Rom. 5:17)

"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." (Rom. 8:19-23)

The eternality of this present world (including death and suffering)

Full Preterist quotes

"... the world, the universe, the kingdom, the Church age, biblically have no end.... Therefore, they have no last day, last hour, last minute, last second, or last anything in which to place a resurrection."²⁶

"Comparatively, just as sin didn't cease to exist after Jesus put it away, physical death was not eliminated by its final defeat. Jesus never meant that believers would not continue to die physically. 'For it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this to face the judgment' (Heb 9:27). That [physical life] wasn't lost in Adam, therefore, it's not restored in Christ, nor will it be."²⁷

"I believe there is a long future ahead of us on this planet...Millions or billions of generations (or even eternity) may be more like it."²⁸

Scripture that is contradicted

"For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:25-26)

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4)

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless." (2 Pet. 3:10-14)

Full Preterist quotes

"The Scriptures state we 'shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever' (Ps 23:6b). That's in Heaven, not on a renovated New Earth 2."²⁹

Scripture that is contradicted

"For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Rom. 4:13)

"By faith Abraham... sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country...not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth... And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." (Heb. 11:8,9,13,39,40)

"Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." (Matt. 5:5)

"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." (Rom. 8:19-23)

Pneumatology

Full Preterist Quotes

"If the transition period for Pneumatology is over, the transition period of eschatology must also be over."³⁰

"What I find interesting in Gentry's³¹ statements here, is that he seems to leave himself hopelessly vulnerable to the charismatics' arguments for a continuation of the miraculous sign gifts, when he says that we today still 'have the outpoured Holy Spirit and His gift of teachers.' Full preterists don't believe that."³² [Note: Ed Steven's is responding to Gentry's article that called full preterism heresy and outside the Orthodox faith. Gentry is a partial preterist like Sproul.]

"If Gentry does not take a preterist approach to these passages [Acts 2:17ff; 1 Cor. 1:5-8; 1 Cor. 13:8ff], he leaves himself defenseless against the charismatic view. But if he does take a preterist approach here, his statement that we still 'have the outpoured Holy Spirit and His gift of teachers' seems inconsistent and contradictory."³³

"The 'earnest of the Spirit,' therefore, is tied to the outworking of God's promise to ISRAEL. This is not an age-long operation, but the focus is on 'the last days' of historic Judaism. The purpose of the Spirit, in its manifold gifts and operations, was to accomplish the change that was decisively determined in Christ's death and resurrection. Paul said that God has wrought us for 'this very thing.' The change belonged to Paul's time. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit belong to his time. That from which the change was being made belonged to his time. The consummation of the change belonged to his time (1 Cor. 10:11; Rom. 13:11,12; Heb. 6:1-6)."³⁴

Scripture that is contradicted

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph. 1:13-14)

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30)

Creedal Issues

Ancient Creeds

Apostles' Creed

"The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost... the resurrection of the body..."

Nicene Creed

"We believe ... And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead... And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."

Athanasian Creed

"Whosoever will be saved: before all things, it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith: Which Faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled: without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this... From whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith: which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved."

The Westminster Confession of Faith

1. Full Preterists who deny that Romans 8:23 teaches "the redemption of our body" but rather insist that it means "escape from our body" would be out of accord at the following place in the Confession: WCF 32:1.

The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them: the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. Besides these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none. (WCF 32:1)

2. Full Preterists who deny that our mortal bodies will rise from the grave, and that these bodies are "the self-same bodies, and none other" than that which we now possess would be out of accord at the following places in the Confession: WCF 32:2; 32:3.

At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised up, with the selfsame bodies, and none other (although with different qualities), which shall be united again to their souls forever. (WCF 32:2)

The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor: the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honor; and be made conformable to his own glorious body. (WCF 32:3)

3. Full Preterists who deny that Christ's body that came out of the grave was and continues to be His resurrection body are out of accord with the following place in the Confession: WCF 8:4.

This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake; which that he might discharge, he was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfill it; endured most grievous torments immediately in his soul, and most painful sufferings in his body; was crucified, and died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered, with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of his Father, making intercession, and shall return, to judge men and angels, at the end of the world. (WCF 8:4)

4. Full Preterists who deny that Christ's body is of the same nature as our resurrection bodies are out of accord with the following place in the Confession: 32:3

The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor: the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honor; and be made conformable to his own glorious body. (WCF 32:3)

5. Full Preterists who deny that there is still to come a physical, bodily, Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are out of accord with the following places in the Confession: WCF 33:1,2,3.

God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father. In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. (WCF 32:1)

The end of God’s appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of his justice, in the damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient. For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fullness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the presence of the Lord; but the wicked who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (WCF 32:2)

As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin; and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity: so will he have that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, Amen. (WCF 32:3)

6. Full Preterists who deny that there is a future final day of judgment of the righteous and of the unrighteous are out of accord with the following places in the Confession: WCF 33:1,2,3.

God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father. In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. (WCF 32:1)

The end of God’s appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of his justice, in the damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient. For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fullness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the presence of the Lord; but the wicked who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (WCF 32:2)

As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin; and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity: so will he have that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, Amen. (WCF 32:3)

7. Full Preterists who deny that the Holy Spirit continues to give spiritual gifts, or that the Holy Spirit continues to be our "earnest," or who deny that we are "sealed to the day of redemption" by the Holy Spirit are out of accord with the following places in the Confession and should be noted as holding either scruples, notations or exceptions: WCF 12:1; 18:2; 26:1.

All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God, have his name put upon them, receive the Spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by him, as by a father: yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption; and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation. (WCF 12:1)

This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. (WCF 18:2)

All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by his Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man. (WCF 26:1)

8. Full Preterists who deny that Satan and his demons continued to be present adversaries to the souls of the righteous after 70 AD are out of accord with the following places in the Confession and should be noted as holding either scruples, notations or exceptions: WCF 5:6; 17:3; 21:1.

As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous Judge, for former sins, doth blind and harden, from them he not only withholdeth his grace whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their hearts; but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had, and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasions of sin; and, withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others. (WCF 5:6)

Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve his Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves. (WCF 17:3)

The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and doth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture. (WCF 21:1)

The Westminster Larger Catechism

The Full Preterist position is in contradiction to at least the following sections of the WLC: 28, 52, 53, 54, 56, 85, 86, 87, 176, 191.

Q. 28. What are the punishments of sin in this world?
A. The punishments of sin in this world are either inward, as blindness of mind, a reprobate sense, strong delusions, hardness of heart, horror of conscience, and vile affections; or outward, as the curse of God upon the creatures for our sakes, and all other evils that befall us in our bodies, names, estates, relations, and employments; together with death itself.

Q. 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?
A. Christ was exalted in his resurrection, in that, not having seen corruption in death (of which it was not possible for him to be held), and having the very same body in which he suffered, with the essential properties thereof (but without mortality, and other common infirmities belonging to this life), really united to his soul, he rose again from the dead the third day by his own power; whereby he declared himself to be the Son of God, to have satisfied divine justice, to have vanquished death, and him that had power of it, and to be Lord of quick and dead: all which he did as a public person, the head of his church, for their justification, quickening in grace, support against enemies, and to assure them of their resurrection from the dead at the last day.

Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
A. Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations, forty days after his resurrection, he, in our nature, and as our head, triumphing over enemies, visibly went up into the highest heavens, there to receive gifts for men, to raise up our affections thither, and to prepare a place for us, where himself is, and shall continue till his second coming at the end of the world.

Q. 54. How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God?
A. Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God-man he is advanced to the highest favor with God the Father, with all fullness of joy, glory, and power over all things in heaven and earth; and doth gather and defend his church, and subdue their enemies; furnisheth his ministers and people with gifts and graces, and maketh intercession for them.

Q. 56. How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world?
A. Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that he, who was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men, shall come again at the last day in great power, and in the full manifestation of his own glory, and of his Father’s, with all his holy angels, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, to judge the world in righteousness.

Q. 85. Death being the wages of sin, why are not the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their sins are forgiven in Christ?
A. The righteous shall be delivered from death itself at the last day, and even in death are delivered from the sting and curse of it; so that, although they die, yet it is out of God’s love, to free them perfectly from sin and misery, and to make them capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter upon.

Q. 86. What is the communion in glory with Christ which the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death?
A. The communion in glory with Christ which the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death, is, in that their souls are then made perfect in holiness, and received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies, which even in death continue united to Christ, and rest in their graves as in their beds, till at the last day they be again united to their souls. Whereas the souls of the wicked are at their death cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, and their bodies kept in their graves, as in their prisons, till the resurrection and judgment of the great day.

Q. 87. What are we to believe concerning the resurrection?
A. We are to believe that at the last day there shall be a general resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust: when they that are then found alive shall in a moment be changed; and the selfsame bodies of the dead which were laid in the grave, being then again united to their souls forever, shall be raised up by the power of Christ. The bodies of the just, by the Spirit of Christ, and by virtue of his resurrection as their head, shall be raised in power, spiritual, incorruptible, and made like to his glorious body; and the bodies of the wicked shall be raised up in dishonor by him, as an offended judge.

Q. 176. Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper agree?
A. The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper agree, in that the author of both is God; the spiritual part of both is Christ and his benefits; both are seals of the same covenant, are to be dispensed by ministers of the gospel, and by none other; and to be continued in the church of Christ until his second coming.

Q. 191. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come), acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate; that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him forever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

The Full Preterist position is in contradiction to at least the following portions of the WSC: 28, 37, 38, 102.

Q. 28. Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation?
A. Christ’s exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

Q. 37. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.

Q. 38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A. At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

Q. 102. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come, we pray that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.