Partial Preterists Sell The Farm

Whenever you see a Partial-Preterist, such as Gary DeMar arguing with a Dispensationalist over eschatology; you will notice that the Partial-Preterist uses almost the exact (if not the exact) same proof-texts that a Full Preterist uses to "prove" hyperpreterism.  The Partial-Preterist will point out to the Dispensationalist that "near" means "near" and "soon" means "soon".  They will point out that the first-century Christians expected "the end" to come within their life times.

But when a Partial-Preterist dusts up with a Full Preterist, suddenly they say that the Full Preterist goes too far.  Who gets to decide how far is too far?

The idiom; "sell the farm" is based on the idea that someone bets or invests everything they have into some scheme. The farmer selling his farm for some get rich scheme. The Partial-Preterists who think they can use the exact same proof-texts used by the Full Preterists, yet deny the Full Preterists the right to be more consistent is selling the farm; investing into the "Preterist" scheme, not realizing that it leads to ruin.

Partial-Preterists, such as Kenneth Gentry have said for years that "Jesus came in judgment in AD70". If this is the case, then the Partial-Preterist is advocating an eschatology that is as "unorthodox" as the Full Preterists.  In Matthew 21 we see that it was not the Heir/Jesus that comes in judgment against the wicked vinedressers (hired workers -- the Jews), but rather it's the Landowner; the Father who comes in judgment.

I expect in the years to come, if and when the mess of shoddy Partial-Preterism turns many people into erroneous but consistent Full Preterists, historians will look back and see that Partial-Preterists are mainly responsible.  DeMar is cited by many Full Preterists as their first exposure to "Preterism".  From there, these people move on without any disclaimer from DeMar right into heresy.  After all, DeMar continues to support Full Preterists; even maintaining accounts on their websites and never being critical of them.

So, next time one of your friends starts talking about this "cool, new perspective" he or she just heard about (most likely from some Partial-Preterist gateway), keep in mind that it is not a big leap, but rather a small step into Full Preterism.  The point is, Partial-Preterists aren't as smart as they think they are. They are destroying the faith of people.