pret·er·ism

(prĕt′ə-rĭz′əm)

A Christian doctrine holding that at least some of the apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible describe events that occurred within the first century after Jesus's death, rather than events that lie still in the future.

[Latin praeter, beyond, past; see preterite + -ism.]

pret′er·ist n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

preterism

the belief that the prophecies of the book of Revelation have already come to pass. — preterist, n., adj.

See also: Christianity

Mentioned in

Christianity

References in periodicals archive

John Hentennius first introduced Preterism, which argues that most of the Apocalypse's prophecies have already been fulfilled, in 1547, but it was Portuguese Jesuit Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) who developed it more fully.

Hanserd Knollys and Mystical Babylon Unveiled: contemporary perspectives and new observations on early English Baptist apocalypticism: seventeenth-century particular Baptist pastor, Hanserd Knollys, was born around 1599 in Lincolnshire, England

(28) The considerable cultural and temporal optimism that this theology implied had been kept strictly subordinate to the salvific efforts of the church--that is, until liberal postmillennialism arose from this very kind of preterism and began to reinterpret "the public means of grace" as a new politicized program of social reform.

Conservative American Protestantism in the League of Nations controversy

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.