Guarding the Gospel Against End-Times Error

What follows isn’t meant to score points or win an argument, but to explain why I believe the theological system commonly called full-preterism carries implications that reach far beyond differences over prophetic timelines. In fact, taken to its logical conclusions, it places itself outside the boundaries of historic Christian orthodoxy.

At the heart of the issue is this: full-preterism asserts that Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the consummation of the kingdom were all fully accomplished by AD 70. That claim does not merely reinterpret a few difficult passages. It fundamentally redefines the gospel’s future hope and, in doing so, diminishes Christ’s authority, power, and declared purpose to redeem His creation.

Scripture consistently teaches that Christ reigns now, yet also that His reign will be openly manifested in a future, bodily, world-renewing consummation. Paul says that Christ “must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet,” and then adds, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25–26). Death, however, continues to rule every graveyard on earth. If death has already been destroyed, it is difficult to explain why it remains the most universal human experience.

Full-preterism also empties the church of its reason for being. If Christ has already returned in fullness and the resurrection is entirely past, then the visible, constituted church becomes unnecessary. Yet Christ Himself instituted the church and promised to be with her “to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20). Paul describes the church as Christ’s body, growing toward maturity “until we all attain to the unity of the faith…to mature manhood” (Ephesians 4:11–13). That “until” makes little sense if all redemptive fulfillment is already complete.

Along with the church, the life of faith itself collapses. Scripture tells us plainly that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Paul adds that “hope that is seen is not hope” (Romans 8:24). Full-preterism insists that the church has already moved from faith into sight, yet nothing in our lived reality or the New Testament witness supports that claim. We still walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), because the fullness of what we hope for has not yet arrived.

The same problem arises with spiritual warfare. Paul commands believers to “put on the whole armor of God” because we wrestle against real spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:11–12). Peter warns that “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8). If Satan, death, and the accuser have already been cast into the lake of fire, these warnings become theatrical at best and deceptive at worst. Scripture does not speak this way.

The work of the Holy Spirit is likewise reduced to a completed task. Yet Jesus promised that the Spirit would remain with His people forever (John 14:16), and Paul describes the Spirit as a “guarantee” or down payment of an inheritance still to come (Ephesians 1:13–14). A guarantee only makes sense if the full possession lies ahead. Romans 8 tells us that believers, though indwelt by the Spirit, still groan as they wait for the redemption of their bodies (Romans 8:23). That waiting has not ended.

Full-preterism also hollows out the sacraments. Baptism is explicitly tied to our future bodily resurrection (Romans 6:3–5). The Lord’s Supper proclaims the Lord’s death “until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). If Christ has already come in the ultimate sense, these ordinances lose their forward-looking meaning and become little more than empty rituals, or worse, obsolete practices.

Most troubling of all is the denial of a future, physical resurrection. Paul could not be clearer: if there is no future resurrection of the dead, then Christian faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:12–19). He grounds our resurrection hope in the bodily resurrection of Christ Himself, who is called “the firstfruits” of those who will follow (1 Corinthians 15:20). To spiritualize the believer’s resurrection while affirming Christ’s bodily resurrection breaks the very pattern Paul insists upon.

The alternative offered by full-preterism is not biblical hope but resignation. It leaves us with disembodied spirits drifting eternally while the material world continues under the curse, death endlessly claiming its victims, and creation never actually redeemed. That vision stands in stark contrast to Scripture’s promise of a renewed creation where death is swallowed up, tears are wiped away, and God dwells with His people in resurrected bodies (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:1–5).

The historic Christian confession has always been simple and stubborn here: Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. That future coming is not an optional add-on. It is woven into the gospel itself. To deny it is not merely to adopt a minority eschatological view, but to embrace a system that dismantles the church, empties the sacraments, silences Christian hope, and redefines redemption in a way Scripture does not allow.

I offer these thoughts not to attack, but to urge you to reconsider whether full-preterism truly does justice to the whole counsel of God. My concern is not theoretical. It is pastoral, biblical, and ultimately Christological. The Jesus who reigns today is the same Jesus who will raise the dead, renew creation, and openly vindicate His people. Anything less falls short of the glory Scripture promises Him.

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Jason K. Boothe serves as Pastor of Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio