Are Preterists Guilty of Hymenaeus Heresy?
Probably the most common characterization of full-preterism is an association with Hymenaeus, one of two spoken of in 1 Tim 1:20 for having “made shipwreck of their faith,” and so “delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” In 2 Tim. 2:17-18, Hymenaeus and Philetus, are condemned for having “swerved from the truth by holding that the resurrection is past already” and “upsetting the faith of some.” The Christian Reconstructionist camp has been particularly vociferous in castigating preterism as “Hymenaeanism.” [38] If Hymenaeus and Philetus believed “the resurrection is past” and preterists believe the parousia occurred in A.D. 70 with the coterminous resurrection of the dead, there might appear to be sufficient similarity to validate the characterization of preterists among those spoken of in the NT who believe “the resurrection is past.” Some preterists have responded to this by noting that Hymenaeus and Philetus were speaking of something as “past” which was still futu
