Though you may never meet a hyper-preterist in your lifetime…trust me, they are out there. The following is a brief critique by Phil Johnson of a hyper-preterist site.
The Preterist Archive. Preterism suggests that the Tribulation prophecies of Matthew 24 were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But what you’ll find here is not mere preterism; it’s hyper-preterism (though the people who run this Web site prefer the term “consistent preterism”). Call it what you will; this view is heresy. It echoes the error of Hymenaeus and Philetus, who taught that the Second Coming was already past, thus overthrowing the faith of some (2 Tim. 2:17-18). Hyper-preterists teach that all New Testament prophecy is now fulfilled; the Lord has returned; and we now live in the New Heavens and New Earth. Sound bizarre? It is. Modern preterism is largely a reactionary movement against the fanaticism of premillennial end-times extremists. Hyper-preterists react to the end-of-the-world doom-and-gloomers by running to an opposite extreme, but their fanaticism is actually driven by a similar spirit. Here’s a rule of thumb: when you encounter someone whose whole view of theology is shaped and driven by any eschatalogical theory (be it pre- post- or a-millennial), so that eschatology becomes their primary concern, you’ve found a candidate for the “really bad theology” category.
