As an adjective or a noun, preterite refers to anything in the past tense.
In Christian theology the noun preterist refers to a approach in biblical interpretation which holds that all the prophecies in the book of Revelation have already been fulfilled. It was the most widely held view among the Reformers, but is hardly held by modern interpretators.
Preterition, also a noun, refers to the doctrine that God, in electing men and women to salvation and eternal life, has simply passed over those non-elect instead of specifically electing some to be saved and others to damnation.
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