Historic premillennialism

Last updated

Historic premillennialism is one of the two premillennial systems of Christian eschatology, with the other being dispensational premillennialism. [1] It differs from dispensational premillennialism in that it only has one view of the rapture, and does not require a literal seven-year tribulation (though some adherents do believe in a seven-year tribulation). Historic premillennialists hold to a post-tribulational rapture, meaning the church is raised to meet Christ in the air after the trials experienced during the Great Tribulation. [2] Historic premillennialism does not require that apocalyptic prophecies be interpreted literally. [3] [4] The doctrine is called "historic" because many early church fathers appear to have held it, including Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Papias. [5] Post-tribulational premillennialism is the Christian eschatological view that the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur prior to a thousand-year reign of the saints but subsequent to the Great Apostasy (and to any tribulation).

Contents

Detailed Eschatological Chart for Abrahamic Religions. Detailed Eschatological Chart for Abrahamic Religions.png
Detailed Eschatological Chart for Abrahamic Religions.

Comparison

Papias was an early advocate of millennialism Papias.png
Papias was an early advocate of millennialism

Premillennialism is a view alternative to both postmillennialism, which teaches that the Second Coming of Jesus will occur after a thousand-year period of righteousness, and to amillennialism, which teaches that the thousand-year period is not meant to be taken literally but is the current church/messianic age. The two major species of premillennialism are historic and dispensational premillennialism, the latter of which is associated with pre-tribulational and mid-tribulational views. See the summary of Christian eschatological differences.

A major difference between historic and dispensational premillennialism is the view of the church in relation to Israel. Historic premillennialists do not see so sharp a distinction between Israel and the church as the dispensationalists do, but instead view believers of all ages as part of one group, now revealed as the body of Christ. Thus, historic premillennialists see no issue with the church going through the Great Tribulation, and their system does not require a separate pre-tribulational rapture of some believers as the dispensational system does.

History

Premillennialism was supported by in the early church by Papias, [6] Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, [5] Tertullian, [7] Pseudo-Barnabas, [8] Methodius, Lactantius, [9] Commodianus, [10] Theophilus, [11] Melito, [12] Hippolytus of Rome, Victorinus of Pettau, [13] [14] Nepos, Julius Africanus, Commodianus, Tatian [15] and Montanus. [16] However, the premillennial views of Montanus probably affected the later rejection of premillennialism in the Church, as Montanism was seen as a heresy. [15]

Proponents of historic premillennialism include Baptists, Presbyterians, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and several Evangelical groups. Individual proponents of historic premillennialism include: John Gill, [17] Robert Shank, Charles Spurgeon, Mike Bickle, [17] [18] Benjamin Wills Newton (a contemporary and fierce theological rival of the father of dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby), George Eldon Ladd, [19] Albert Mohler, [20] Clarence Bass, John Piper, [21] Francis Schaeffer, D. A. Carson, [22] [23] [24] Gordon Clark, [17] Bryan Chapell, [25] and Carl F. H. Henry. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. Eschatology – the word derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" (ἔσχατος) and "study" (-λογία) – involves the study of "end things", whether of the end of an individual life, of the end of the age, of the end of the world, or of the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology focuses on the ultimate destiny of individual souls and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eschatology</span> Part of theology concerned with the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity

Eschatology concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions, which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore. While other religions may have concepts of renewal or transformation after significant events, the explicit description of a new earth is primarily found in Christian teachings within the context of eschatology, this description can be found in Chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation.

Left Behind is a multimedia franchise of apocalyptic fiction written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, released by Tyndale House Publishers from 1995 to 2007.

Millennialism or chiliasm is a belief which is advanced by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a Messianic Age will be established on Earth prior to the Last Judgment and the future permanent state of the "eternity".

In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapture</span> Eschatological concept of certain Christians

The Rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive, together will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Nelson Darby</span> British theologian (1800–1882)

John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.

Dispensationalism is a theological framework of interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with his chosen people in different ways. It is often distinguished from covenant theology. The term "dispensationalism" is attributed to Philip Mauro, a critic of the system's teachings in his 1928 book The Gospel of the Kingdom.

In Christian eschatology, postmillennialism, or postmillenarianism, is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a messianic age in which Christian ethics prosper. The term subsumes several similar views of the end times, and it stands in contrast to premillennialism and, to a lesser extent, amillennialism.

Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1–6 in the New Testament, which describes Jesus's reign in a period of a thousand years.

John Flipse Walvoord was a Christian theologian, a pastor, and the president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986. He was the author of over 30 books, focusing primarily on eschatology and theology, including The Rapture Question, and was co-editor of The Bible Knowledge Commentary with Roy B. Zuck. He earned AB and DD degrees from Wheaton College, an AM degree from Texas Christian University in philosophy, a Th.B., Th.M., and Th.D. in Systematic Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Litt.D. from Liberty Baptist Seminary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amillennialism</span> Belief there will be no millennial reign of the righteous on Earth

Amillennialism or amillenarism is a chillegoristic eschatological position in Christianity which holds that there will be no millennial reign of the righteous on Earth. This view contrasts with both postmillennial and, especially, with premillennial interpretations of Revelation 20 and various other prophetic and eschatological passages of the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hall Brookes</span> American minister

James Hall Brookes was an American Presbyterian pastor, Christian leader and author. Brookes led congregations in Ohio and Missouri during a career spanning 43 years. He became a leader among his peers in the Niagara Bible Conference which led to editing The Truth: or, Testimony for Christ, a periodical. His legacy is also found in the many books, booklets and tracts he produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-tribulation rapture</span> Doctrine in Christian theology

The post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and rapture, or gathering of the saints, after the Great Tribulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futurism (Christianity)</span> Christian eschatological view

Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets portions of the Book of Revelation, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Book of Daniel as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

In Christian eschatology, historicism is a method of interpretation of biblical prophecies which associates symbols with historical persons, nations or events. The main primary texts of interest to Christian historicists include apocalyptic literature, such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. It sees the prophecies of Daniel as being fulfilled throughout history, extending from the past through the present to the future. It is sometimes called the continuous historical view. Commentators have also applied historicist methods to ancient Jewish history, to the Roman Empire, to Islam, to the Papacy, to the Modern era, and to the end time.

Robert Henry Boll was a German-born American preacher in the Churches of Christ. Boll is most known for advancing a premillennialist eschatology within the Churches of Christ, in articles written during his editorship of the front page of the Gospel Advocate from 1909 to 1915 and after 1915 in Word and Work, leading to a dispute which was a significant source of division within the Churches of Christ in the 1930s. Boll was one of the most influential advocates for the premillennial point of view, and was most singularly opposed by Foy E. Wallace Jr. By the end of the 20th century, however, the divisions caused by the debate over premillennialism were diminishing, and in the 2000 edition of the directory Churches of Christ in the United States, published by Mac Lynn, congregations holding premillennial views were no longer listed separately.

In Evangelical Christian theology, progressive dispensationalism is a variation of traditional dispensationalism. All dispensationalists view the dispensations as chronologically successive. Progressive dispensationalists, in addition to viewing the dispensations as chronologically successive, also view the dispensations as progressive stages in salvation history. The term "progressive" comes from the concept of an interrelationship or progression between the dispensations. Progressive dispensationalism is not related to any social or political use of the term progressive, such as progressive Christianity.

Word and Work is a religious journal associated with those Churches of Christ that hold to a premillennial eschatology. It was founded in 1908 by Dr. David Lipscomb Watson.

The Millennial day theory, the Millennium sabbath hypothesis, or the Sabbath millennium theory, is a theory in Christian eschatology in which the Second Coming of Christ will occur 6,000 years after the creation of mankind, followed by 1,000 years of peace and harmony. It is a very popular belief accepted by certain premillennialists who usually promote young earth creationism.

References

  1. ↑ Reverend Doctor Stephen Call "Overview of Eschatology"(2019)
  2. ↑ Reverend Doctor Stephen Call "Premillennialism"(2021)
  3. ↑ Reverend Doctor Stephen Call "Historic Premillennialism" (2019)
  4. ↑ Moody Handbook of Theology
  5. 1 2 "Historic Premillennialism". Monergism. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. 1 2 Davies and Allison. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Volume 1, ICC. p. 13.
  7. ↑ Chung, Sung Wook; Mathewson, David L. (2018-08-27). Models of Premillennialism. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN   978-1-5326-3769-8.
  8. ↑ ”Among the Apostolic Fathers Barnabas is the first and the only one who expressly teaches a pre-millennial reign of Christ on earth. He considers the Mosaic history of the creation a type of six ages of labor for the world, each lasting a thousand years, and of a millennium of rest, since with God ‘one day is as a thousand years.’ Millennial Sabbath on earth will be followed by an eight and eternal day in a new world, of which the Lord’s Day (called by Barnabas ‘the eighth day’) is the type" (access The Epistle of Barnabas here). Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, n.d.) 382.
  9. ↑ Insruct. adv. Gentium Deos, 43, 44.
  10. ↑ According to the Encyclopedia of the Early Church “Commodian (mid 3rd c.) takes up the theme of the 7000 years, the last of which is the millennium (Instr. II 35, 8 ff.).” M. Simonetti, “Millenarism,” 560.
  11. ↑ Against Marcion, book 3 chp 25
  12. ↑ Simonetti writes in the Encyclopedia of the Early Church “We know that Melito was also a millenarian" regarding Jerome's reference to him as a chiliast. M. Simonetti, “Millenarism,” 560.
  13. ↑ Note this is Victorinus of Pettau not Marcus Piav(v)onius Victorinus the Gaelic Emperor
  14. ↑ In his Commentary on Revelation and from the fragment De Fabrica Mundi (Part of a commentary on Genesis). Jerome identifies him as a premillennialist.
  15. 1 2 Foster, K. Neill; Fessenden, David E. (2007-02-01). Essays on Premillennialism: A Modern Reaffirmation of an Ancient Doctrine. Moody Publishers. ISBN   978-1-60066-959-0.
  16. ↑ Foster, K. Neill; Fessenden, David E. (2007-02-01). Essays on Premillennialism: A Modern Reaffirmation of an Ancient Doctrine. Moody Publishers. ISBN   978-1-60066-959-0.
  17. 1 2 3 W. Gary Crampton (February 1999). "Review of A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith by Robert L. Reymond". The Trinity Review. The Trinity Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  18. ↑ Charles H. Spurgeon and Eschatology Archived 2007-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Direction: A Commentary on the Revelation of John
  20. ↑ Al Mohler at Dauphin Way Baptist Church, March 29, 2009
  21. ↑ "Definitions and Observations Concerning the Second Coming of Christ". Desiring God. 1987-08-30. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  22. ↑ "Evangelical Free Church" . Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  23. ↑ "DA Carson Stats" . Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Third Millennium Ministries".
  25. ↑ Awitness4Jesus (2017-07-30), What Is Historic Premillennialism? - Bryan Chapell, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2018-11-21{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE SOCIAL ETHICS OF CARL F. H. HENRY: A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY EVANGELICAL REAPPRAISAL" (PDF).

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.