According to Preterism has Jesus already delivered the kingdom to God?

Question

1 Corinthians 15:22-25 (ESV)
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

I assume this refers to when Christ destroyed death, the last enemy, which is in the past.

So do Preterists say that after A.D. 70 "the end" came and Jesus ceased to reign so that God might be all in all?

Answer 1

There are two types of Preterism – Full (or consistent) Preterism, which is sometimes called hyper-Preterism, and Partial Preterism.

Full Preterism believes all Bible prophecy has been fulfilled. It regards the book of Revelation as a symbolic picture of first century conflicts. The final judgment is still in the process of being fulfilled and Jesus’ return to earth was a spiritual return, and not a physical return. More information here: https://www.gotquestions.org/preterist.html

Partial Preterism says that when Christ spoke of “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 he was referring to those living at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 therefore the tribulation had to occur within about 40 years of his statement. The Tribulation and the Antichrist refer to A.D. 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Roman emperor Titus. The “last days” are the last days of the Old Jewish Covenant, not the last days of the earth itself.

Partial Preterism also believes that with the exception of the last two chapters, Revelation was also fulfilled during the first century A.D. Christ will return to earth and there will be a future resurrection and judgment but there is no “rapture”, there is no millennial kingdom, and Israel has no place in God’s future plans. They take Revelation chapters 6 to 18 as highly symbolic but Revelation 19 is literal. Revelation 20 is allegorical whilst chapters 21 to 22 are literal. Yes, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but no literal millennial kingdom.

With regard to Matthew 24:29-30 and “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29–30), these verses are not taken to mean a bodily return of Christ but to an appearing of His judgment.

When, then, did Christ hand over the Kingdom to God? Did "the end" come in A.D. 70 and Jesus ceased to reign so that God might be all in all? More significantly, according to Preterism, when did Christ start to reign?

If there is no literal Kingdom and no literal return of Jesus, then one can only conclude that the Preterist view is that the Kingdom and the keys are symbolic and spiritual.

Answer 2

Preterism is the eschatological view that either all (full) or some (partial) prophecies have been fulfilled. This is in contrast to the futurism view.

OP: According to Preterism has Jesus already delivered the kingdom to God?

Keeping in mind that 1 Corinithians was written circa 55AD, full preterists would say yes, this prophecy was fulfilled in 70AD (Jerusalem temple) to 73AD (Onias temple in Egypt). This was the complete and final destruction of the Old Covenant that still called for animal sacrifice in lieu of Jesus Christ's one, done once, never to be repeated, sacrifice after a 40-year grace period still calling for repentance from Christ's death in 30AD and Hellenistic rejection in 33AD (Acts 6:9).

Back to the verse in question whether Jesus has already delivered His kingdom to God.

then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power -- (YLT 1 Cor 15:24)

When Christ walked the earth, He proclaimed that the kingdom of God was nigh, but how would He know, from a human point of view? How would He convince His listeners of this?

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Dan 2:44

This establishment of God's kingdom was begun and continues (verb tense of "set up") during the times of the last kingdom in Daniel's vision of four kingdoms, the Roman kingdom.

Christ then built upon this prophecy as being fulfilled in His time.

And [Christ] saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:15

Repent, change your mind about the Old Covenant that IF you could do it all, you would be in right standing with God, and instead believe the gospel of the salvation by grace through faith in the work of Christ.

And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. Luke 19:11

The disciples thought Christ would immediately rule, but first the Suffering Servant prophecies had to be fulfilled that showed His passion from sufferings to resurrection.

So, Christ preached the kingdom was nigh. He had to fulfill all that was written about Him. This He did.

Christ delivered the kingdom to God the Father when all other choices, authority, and power came to an end in 70AD.

As John and Peter declared the truth of the alternative though prophesied New Covenant (Jer 31:32, Heb 8:9),

You have appointed them as a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (Rev 5:10).

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Answer 3

Preterism is the view that the Biblical prophecies concerning the end times have already been fulfilled. I understand they get this conclusion from such verses as Heb 2v14 where the Devil is destroyed. Here we might say that the contract is signed but the resulting possession not fully entered into. Also, "this generation" Mat 24v34 could be the people who see these things. When "you" [Jews] see these things [some time in the future], the generation who sees these things, will not pass away until all these things take place. "These things" may take place 2000+ years hence, but when they do take place they will occur with such rapidity that one generation will witness them all.