Many ideals and beliefs have been formed from the study of the Bible. Preterism is a Christian eschatological (end of the world) belief that Revelation’s prophecies have already occurred. Members of the group are called Preterists, and they believe actual historical events explain the prophecies. Followers of Preterism believe their end of the world view was the same espoused by the early Christian church. However, this concept is a matter of dispute.
Revelations is the last book of the New Testament. The author uses three literary genres: epistolary, apocalyptic and prophetic. The text addresses the reader, and makes a number of predictions, involving the end of the world. There’s some dispute about when the book was written. Most scholars believe it was written around A.D. 95 while others believe it was A.D. 70. Some scholars believe the book was written by John the Apostle while others believe it was written by a lesser known figure, John of Patmos. One point of agreement is that Revelations was written in ancient Greek.
Preterists believe Zechariah 14 fulfilled occurred in A.D. 66. The biblical text states, “all the nations (will be gathered) to Jerusalem to fight against it.” Preterists believe this occurred when the Roman legions, and armies from all over the world, attacked Jerusalem. Before the battles, historians say an army of angels appeared in the clouds. Zechariah 14.5 describes the event as, “Then the Lord My God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” A month before the angels appeared, a miraculous light lit up the night in Jerusalem, as if it were day. Zechariah 14.7 states, “when evening comes, there will be light.” The next verse predicts that water will flow out of Jerusalem, “half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea.” In A.D. 70, the Roman army began its siege of Jerusalem. Further, water flowed in abundance to the Pool of Siloam to the west and the King’s Pool to the east. Preterists believe this was Zechariah 14 fulfilled. The Bible is a voluminous text, complete with prophecies, stories and statements. Scholars will continue to read and interpret the text, leading to new beliefs and ideas.
