When you boil it all down there are only three schools of thought for interpreting prophecy. There are idealists, who interpret prophecy symbolically and don’t expect any of it to be fulfilled in the literal sense. Then there are preterists, who see the complete fulfillment of prophecy in past events culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. And there are futurists who see the fulfillment of prophecy in events still to come. All the major views fit under one of these headings.

In this study, I’m going to focus on preterists and futurists because they both claim to interpret prophecy in terms of a literal fulfillment, whereas idealists treat it allegorically, symbolic of the ongoing struggle between good and evil. Because of that there are many opinions among idealists as to what it all means, with about the only areas of universal agreement being that none of it will really happen as written, and the “good guys” will eventually win. When you read an idealist’s interpretation of prophecy you’re reading what someone wishes the Bible did say, instead of what it does say.

For the most part preterists and futurists both agree on the basics of the Gospel. But when it comes to prophecy it’s hard to imagine how any two groups could be farther apart. Unlike idealists, both preterists and futurists look for the fulfillment of prophecy in actual events, but as I said preterists see its fulfillment in events long past, while futurists look for it in events to come.

Preterist comes from the Latin word praeter, a prefix that defines something as being in the past. Think of the “pre” in preterist as standing for previous, as in previous to 71 AD. As an example, let’s take one of the Bible’s most important prophecies, Daniel’s 70 Weeks (Daniel 9:24-27). Preterists believe the entire prophecy has been fulfilled. According to the preterist interpretation, after Jesus was crucified, the Romans desecrated the Temple, and the Roman Emperor Nero fulfilled the prophecies of the coming prince, also known as the anti-Christ.

Preterists believe the day of the Lord took place in 68-70 AD with the Roman conquest of Israel. The Millennium was actually only 40 years long and took place from 30-70 AD. The Earth will last forever and there will be no coming judgment and no rapture of the Church. Since there’s no prophecy left to fulfill we’ll simply transition from time into eternity on a future day of the Lord’s choosing.

On the other hand, futurists believe there is a gap of time between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel and all of Daniel’s 70th week is yet to be fulfilled. According to the futurist view the rapture of the Church, the rebuilt Temple in Israel, the Great Tribulation, the 2nd Coming, the Millennium and the Great White Throne judgment are still to come.

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Categories: Prophecy