As time has gone on, things have been unraveling. Perhaps we can best understand this unraveling as phases of degradation. The first sign of eroding of faith is latent within the earliest form of Hyper-Preterism, a system called "Covenant Eschatology". CE was originally coined by Max King & his son Tim King. CE has as its guiding principle that "the world is made new therefore man is made new". Perhaps this sounds like a harmless axiom at first but when you theologically unpack it you can really see it goes against the very foundation of the Bible. That is, just because a new world (or new covenant) is established DOESN'T mean man automatically becomes new. The Flood did not rectify the sin issue, nor did the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. What is needed is a renewing of man & in that the "world becomes new". Only through Christ & being reborn in Christ can man become new. Hyper-preterism missing the mark on this main point has led many of them to conclude forms of universalism, which might be considered the first phase of Hyper-preterism's continued spiral into delusion.
The next phase of deterioration can be seen in the subtle & not so subtle move away from Scripture. This departure manifests itself in various ways; via a focus on the "social gospel" where doctrine is disdained & "relational" & "postmodern" concepts are lauded. Another departure is seen in the "metaphorization" of almost every text of the Bible. This goes far beyond a simple "spiritualizing" of the texts. The Hyper-Preterists metaphorization of Scripture flies under the banner of the "need to be consistent". This appeal to apparent "logic" is really a complete disregard for not only basic literary constructs such as context, idiom, hyperbole & such but the inordinate focus on "being consistent" runs roughshod over the most basic pattern of Scripture unfolding...typology. Typology is used all through the Bible wherein we see God first revealing His plan through material manifestations. The physical world, the Garden, Adam & Eve, the nation of Israel, the tangible Temple & on & on are eventually fulfilled in the spiritual. But this contrast between the cosmological & the spiritual is not arbitrary. It is not simply a matter of "symbolism", typology is REVEALED FULFILLMENT. We ought not just go through the Bible & haphazardly apply a symbolic sheen to everything. This tends to be the methodology of many Hyper-Preterists.
The final phase in Hyper-Preterism's complete break from historic Christianity seems to be showing itself in Hyper-Preterism's disassociation from the Bible. They are seeing the Bible less & less as God's voice to all of humanity & more as a book only relating the "covenantal" relationship of God with Israel. Indeed, there are many Hyper-Preterists who claim so much of the New Testament is only about the first-century Jews that these Hyper-Preterists say there is no more need to be "born again" (it was only a "first-century thing"). This fits perfectly with the initial Max King mantra of "a new world = a new man". It is the by-product of the bad premise.
But the most stark example of Hyper-Preterism's journey away from being anything resembling Christianity perhaps is best summed up in this recent statement by a Hyper-Preterist:
I often wonder. If Adam never sinned, would we even have a "Bible". I don't think so. So, if we have been restored in Christ to where Adam was, why do we need it now? (source)This is the height (or rather depth) of Hyper-Preterist folly. Their "it's all about the covenant" concept leads them to believe that once the covenant is changed, suddenly there is no more need for the Bible. They are now free to just make things up. This is what they mean by "liberty". This is what they mean when they clamor for "tolerance" & "acceptance" among historic, BIBLICAL Christianity. No, my friends - don't give the Hyper-Preterist heresy even a inch into your faith or you too will begin these faith-destroying phases until perhaps you too will find yourself one day wondering why we even need the Bible at all.
