That's where I come in as a college student recently saved, bought into Hal Lindsay hook line and sinker.
PreTrib all the way, til I saw PRE-WRATH by Rosenthal and liked it, was into that for a while...
Was on a message-board with Ellis Skolfield in 2000 and fell for his weird stuff for a while, went back to Rapture Ready Board and pre-trib (it was a message board back then, not what it is now)
Four years ago I read Gentry's BEFORE JERUSALEM FELL -- joined CF then with at least one barrier to Preterism permeable -- I was ready to accept an early date for the writing of Revelation.
Came to CF, was confronted with the "No Full Preterism allowed" stuff, and eventually became sympathetic to Preterism in general - I have to admit I still don't clearly see difference between Fulls and Partials.
Most recently I am convinced that Daniel's 70 weeks were all over with at Stephen's Stoning.
The post before this one describes how I see the church's views of endtimes thru history, this one here describes my own personal journeys towards an eschatological understanding -- I guess I am at a Neanderthal stage of partial preterism
My story has a couple similarities to yours. As a non Christian teen I read Daniel and Revelation and saw the Late Great Planet Earth at the movies. So apocalyptism was my default position. Became a believer in 1982 and a vociferous Bible student, but not a vociferous read commentaries about the Bible student. In fact I found them so boring and wrong headed, (it seemed to me) that I didn't read anything along the lines of theology or commentaries. So I only heard preached the common pop culture end time teaching like Hall Lindsey's book. Never heard the word preterist, pre millennialist etc etc. Come 1986 I decided I needed to study the end times since I thought I was called to teach. By that time I had the New Testament memorized and could finish any verse quoted to me from the Bible. I found I just couldn't honestly or rationally fit much I had ever heard about the end times into the scriptures. So I just decided I could not understand it and would just avoid the subject.
Besides my studies and listening to the Bible on tape every day. I developed a very edifying a habit of taking about an hour a day reading aloud certain chapters. Many of them from Isaiah. I had them memorized so I could just repeat them every day as part of my devotions. Well I got married, that changed the amount of time I could spend on this stuff. At that time we were going to a church where there was quite a supernatural revival going on. I kid you not, miracles, and they prophesied the next two decades just exactly as it happened in the USA. When we moved to CA the week after at a camp meeting. The main pastor prophesied how God was going to open up the book of Revelation to his people. I really took notice of that not because I cared one little bit about understanding that book. I only knew it didn't teach what everyone said. I took notice of the power behind that prophecy. Well we moved to CA and then came back a year later. Our first night there, in sleeping bags on our friends living room floor, I swear this is the truth. An angel walked into that room. Knew it couldn't see it and the Holy Spirit opened the book of Revelation up to us. How you might ask. Did he tell you things to come? Did he show you the end times were about to happen? LOL. NO! He compared scripture to scripture. not a word outside of scripture. Opened my mind to the fact that all those things I had been quoting every day for years were the same things in Revelation 21-22. Just dropped the whole subject of Bible prophecy right down into our spirits to be properly sorted out in the next few years.
Not something I asked for, not something I wanted or sought for. Has caused me a world of trouble because it is contrary to all men just about. It is neither pre, mid, post, ah, or preter. Although all of those things obviously have some truth to them. I call it scriptualism. If the Bible doesn't interpret it, it not interpretable to human beings. If the Holy Spirit reveal's Bible prophecy he will reveal by showing someone where in the Bible i interprets its own prophecy. The only exception to that rule is if something uninterpreted in the Bible lies within the context of something already interpreted . That way at least you have an idea where to look.
That was a long way to say this. About your statement where you don't see a difference between partial and full preterists. One would think they have the same goals but what I have found is they do not. When I try to show full preterists that there are two bodies of end time prophecy in the Bible. One about the Old Covenant age 70 AD; then another about the end of the age of the four gentile empires. They flip out. One would think, since the goal ( at least it should be the goal or the preterists) is to focus then on all the prophecies about the age that was to come after the age of the four gentile empires. Then it would be no big deal to differentiate between the two bodies of end time prophecy since they both came to pass exactly like they said and when the said. Not the case though and so vociferous is the objection to that; that I think preterism as a doctrine is based in a sectarian spirit. Which is why I avoid the tag completely.
We are living in the age that was to occur after the fall of the fourth empire 1453 AD. It has its own body of prophecy that is greater in volume than the end time prophecies of the last two ages. That body of prophecy needs to be the focus of our faith and works. Since we are also now 600 years into this age it is easy to look back over it and compare it to the ages that came before and see the difference. It's easy to see what has been and will continue to come to pass even with the all the opposition against it. Which is illustrated by the prophecies of Gog and Magog, (who lose!) If you'll notice. the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon, the British Empire, The German empire, the NAZi's, the Imperial Japanese, the Communists have all attempted to take over the world but were defeated at the hands of the nations most influenced by the Bible and the Gospel. Nothing like it was before that fourth empire fell. Where the bad guys always won. These are what the prophetic illustrations of Gog and Magog are about. The nations and peoples that oppose the growth of the invisible Government of God. The international left and their new allies the Muslim Brotherhood types that are now arising against the growth of that Government of God. Which is a government of influence in the earth that people voluntarily follow. Will also in their end be defeated by those who are most influenced by the Bible and their allies who want freedom.
You want a prediction from me about the future here is one for you. The lands of Mohamed will be tamed by the Word of God, the Gospel and the Government of God just like our lands are being tamed. Shoot one day we will wake up to an internet headline. "China declares itself a Christian nation." (How is that for a prediction based on history, not a prophecy.) Imagine the trouble those are in who are saying, "we are like grasshoppers before their eyes" Or, "it is written the world will grow worse and worse;" when historically since Christ came it grows better and better! ( Especially since the Bible started getting into the hands of the general public right when that fourth empire fell.) If you want to read anything I have written about this. Here are three easy chapters from Isaiah about the New Jerusalem. These are part of that great body of prophecy I am talking about that pertains to this age.
The Bride of Christ