THINGS TO COME

INTRODUCTION TO ESCHATOLOGY

I. THE MEANING OF ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology means the theology of last things. That study can cover all things that were future at the time of their writing, or it can include only those things which are still future from our present vantage point. It deals with the consummation of all things, both those things which relate to individuals and to the world.

Everyone has some sort of eschatology. For many moderns, eschatology is a study in despair, for all things will end in death-the death of the individual and the death of the universe. Even evolution does not promise immortality. For others the despair is modified by a vague hope in some sort of life after death. For the Christian the Bible provides clear and detailed teaching concerning the future so that he may know with certainty what lies ahead.

II. THE SCOPE OF ESCHATOLOGY

The study of last things (those which are yet future from our viewpoint) includes the biblical teaching concerning the intermediate state, the resurrections, the Rapture of the church, the second advent of Christ, and the Millennium.

III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ESCHATOLOGY

The study could be developed in a number of ways. One would be to separate the future for the individual from the future for the world. Another would be to catalog the future for the church, the future for Israel, the future for Gentiles, and the future for the world. Another approach might study the various teachings in their chronological order. A biblical theology approach would study the eschatology of the Old Testament, the eschatology of Jesus, the eschatology of Paul, the eschatology of John, etc.

No one method is necessarily superior to another. Most writers seem to combine various approaches, and so shall I. Some of the topics like resurrection will be discussed from the individual viewpoint. Others, like the Tribulation will be outlined chronologically. The three basic approaches to eschatology, premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, need to have a more systematic treatment in order to see their distinctive approaches as a whole. Because of the contemporary debate concerning the relation of the Rapture of the church to the Tribulation, this will need special attention.

IV. THE IMPORTANCE OF ESCHATOLOGY

Because there is much divergence in this area of doctrine, and because some things are not crystal clear, some assume that eschatology should be given a lesser importance than other areas of biblical truth. Is there any area of doctrine that has not been debated? Think of the Trinity, or the nature of the person of Christ, or church government, or predestination, or eternal security, or the effects of Adam’s sin. And think of some of the difficult concepts to interpret in these areas, concepts like the triunity of God, Deity and humanity united in one Person, the meaning of only begotten, the concept of imputed sin, etc. Yet we do not, nor should we, shy away from a detailed study of these teachings. Similarly we must not slight what the Bible says about the future.

For the believer, the knowledge of prophecy (a) provides joy in the midst of affliction (2 Cor. 4:17), (b) cleanses and encourages holy living (1 John 3:3), (c) is profitable, like all Scripture, for a number of important needs in the Christian’s life (2 Tim. 3:16-17), (d) gives facts about life after death (2 Cor. 5:8), (e) gives truth about the end of history, (f) gives proof of the reliability of all Scripture, for the number of prophecies that have come to pass precisely as predicted cannot be accounted for by chance but only by God, (g) draws our hearts out in worship to the God who is in complete control and who will accomplish His will in history. To slight prophecy is to miss these benefits.

I. A DEFINITION OF POSTMILLENNIALISM

Loraine Boettner gives a careful descriptive definition of postmillennialism. It is “That view of last things which holds that the kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals, that the world is eventually to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ is to occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace commonly called the ‘Millennium.’ . . . the second coming of Christ will be followed immediately by the general resurrection, the general judgment, and the introduction of heaven and hell in their fullness” (The Millennium [Nutley, N.J. : Presbyterian and Reformed, 1957], p. 14).

A.H. Strong describes the Millennium as “a period in the later days of the church militant, when, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the martyrs shall appear again, true religion be greatly quickened and revived, and the members of Christ’s churches become so conscious of their strength in Christ that they shall, to an extent unknown before, triumph over the power of evil both within and without” (Systematic Theology [Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1907], p. 1013).

II. DOCTRINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMILLENNIALISM

A. Concerning the Bible

Biblical postmillennialists believe in the authority of the Bible. Of course, liberals who expect a Golden Age to come through human efforts have a kind of postmillennial view of history though it is not biblically based.

B. Concerning the Power of God

Their confidence in the power of God causes them to believe that the Great Commission will be fulfilled in that most of the world will be saved. To believe otherwise makes the Commission ineffective and the power of God impotent.

C. Concerning the Church

The church, fulfilling the Great Commission, will be the instrument to bring about and promote the Millennium on earth.

D. Concerning the Return of Christ

Postmillennialists believe in the actual return of Christ at the conclusion of the Millennium. His return will be followed immediately by the general resurrection and judgment.

E. Concerning the Millennium

1. Length. The Millennium, according to postmillennialism, will be an extended period of time, not necessarily a thousand years. It may perhaps be much longer than a literal 1,000 years.

2. Beginning. Some understand that the Millennium will begin gradually; others see a more abrupt beginning to the spread of righteousness throughout the earth.

3. Characteristics. The Millennium will be a time of peace, material prosperity, and spiritual welfare on the earth. However, not all will be saved, nor will all sin be eradicated. But Christian principles will be the rule, not the exception, and sin will be reduced to negligible proportions.

4. Activities. Some postmillennialists allow for a brief time of apostasy at the conclusion of the Millennium just prior to the return of Christ (see Boettner, p. 69).

F. Concerning Satan

Postmillennialists understand Satan is bound at all times in that he is always under God’s control. But he will be bound at the beginning of the Millennium in a special way according to Revelation 20. However, this has not yet occurred since we are not yet in the Millennium but are at this time laying the foundations for the Millennium.

III. EVIDENCE THAT THE WORLD IS GETTING BETTER

If we are not yet in the Millennium but are laying the groundwork for it, then we ought to be able to see evidence that things are getting better in the world. Postmillennialism believes we can. That evidence includes a number of things. (1) Social conditions are certainly improved in many parts of the world. As one example, the status of women has been greatly improved wherever the Gospel has been received. (2) The enormous amount of money given to Christian causes promotes better conditions in the world. (3) The Bible continues to be the world’s bestseller. It is now translated into more languages than ever before in the history of the world. (4) The Gospel is disseminated in many more ways and to many more places than ever before. Radio and literature distribution are two ways this is being done.

Of course this evidence is true, and no believer can be anything but thankful for it. But whether this presages an imminent Millennium is another question that must also take into account the contemporary increase of evil before it can be answered accurately.

IV. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT FOR POSTMILLENNIALISM

A. Passages Which Tell of a Golden Age

Since the many passages which speak of a triumphant reign of Christ have not been fulfilled in history, they are yet to be fulfilled in the future but before the second advent of Christ. Many of these Scriptures are the same ones which premillennialists understand as referring to the millennial kingdom. The postmillennialist sees them fulfilled before Christ returns, while the premillennialist expects them to be fulfilled after Christ returns. Such passages include Psalms 2:8; 22:27; 47; 72; 86:9; Isa. 2:2-4; 11:6-9; Jeremiah 31:34; Daniel 2:35, 44; Micah 4:1-4.

B. Passages Which Characterize the Gospel as Powerful and Worldwide

Because the Gospel is the power of God (Rom. 1:16), it is unthinkable, postmillennialists argue, that the world will not be converted. God wishes all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), so to pray expecting this will happen is to pray in the will of God.

C. Other Passages

Christ’s Parable of the Leaven affirms the universal extent of the kingdom (Matt. 13:33). Romans 11 predicts the conversion of a great number of Jews and Gentiles. Revelation 7:9-10 pictures a great multitude of redeemed people from all peoples of the world.

V. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF POSTMILLENNIALISM

A. Joachim of Fiore (ca. 1135-1202)

An early exponent of a postmillennial scheme, Joachim explained history as being trinitarian; that is, the first age was that of the Father when mankind lived under the Law of the Old Testament; the second was that of the Son, the period of grace covered in the New Testament; and the third age was to be that of the Spirit beginning about A.D. 1260 in which the world would be converted.

B. Daniel Whitby (1638-1726)

An erudite clergyman, Whitby published thirty-nine works, including A Treatise of the True Millennium (London: W. Bowyer, 1700). He taught that after the world would be converted, the Jews restored to the Holy Land, and the pope and Turks defeated, the world would enjoy a time of peace and righteousness for a thousand years. At the close of this Millennium, Christ would personally come to earth, raise the dead and judge all people. His views were very popular and were adopted by many eighteenth- and nineteenth-century preachers and commentators.

Whitby’s postmillennialism was quite Jewish oriented. He described the Millennium as the reign of converted Jews with Gentiles “flowing in to them.” All spiritual blessings in the Millennium will be conveyed from the Jews to other nations. He believed that the church will live in a revitalized state during the Millennium, though bodily resurrection will not occur till after the Millennium.

C. Other Postmillennialists

Liberals who hold to inevitable progress through natural (or evolutionary processes) may rightly be labeled postmillennial. However, they do not take the Scriptures seriously and see world improvement coming through the power of man.

Conservative postmillennialists do take the Scriptures as the Word of God and attribute improvement to the power of God. James Snowden (The Coming of the Lord (New York: Macmillan, 1919]) understood the Millennium to be the entire time between the first and second advents of Christ. His scheme differed from amillennialism in that he taught that the world was getting better. He interpreted the events of Revelation 20 either as already past or as describing heavenly bliss.

Charles Hodge taught that the Second Advent will be preceded by the universal diffusion of the Gospel, the national conversion of the Jews, and the coming of Antichrist. When Christ comes, there will be the general resurrection and judgment of all mankind (Systematic Theology [New York: Scribners, 1887], 3:792).

The postmillennialism of the post-World War II era has till recently generally been of the liberal variety. The great advancements of the twentieth century through man’s achievements gave credibility to the concept. There were scarcely any biblical postmillennialists (Loraine Boettner being an exception).

But in the latter part of this century an interesting phenomena has developed. Some former amillennialists have become postmillennialists because of their belief in theonomy. Theonomy is the state of being governed by God. Theonomists promote subduing the earth by means of science, education, the arts, and all other pursuits in order to effect God’s dominion over all things. For some, this means imposing the Law of the Old Testament on life today not only in moral matters but also in governmental, financial, and others. Now, of course, if this is done, conditions in the world will improve and we will then experience the rule of God over life in the world. Thus, many reformed theologians who strongly support the use of the Law and who were amillennial have switched to embrace postmillennialism as the goal of their theonomistic program.

To sum up: liberals promote a postmillennial goal through humanism. Biblical postmillennialists promote it through the church’s preaching of the Gospel. Theonomists promote it through the Gospel and the imposition of Old Testament Law.

A SURVEY OF AMILLENNIALISM

I. A DEFINITION OF AMILLENNIALISM

Amillennialism is the view of last things that holds there will be no Millennium before the end of the world. Until the end there will be a parallel development of both good and evil, God’s kingdom and Satan’s. After the second coming of Christ at the end of the world there will be a general resurrection and general judgment of all people.

II. DOCTRINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AMILLENNIALISM

A. Concerning the Bible

In general, amillennialists hold a high view of the inspiration and authority of the Bible. If some do not, it is not their amillennialism that causes this. One need only recall names like Oswald T. Allis, William Hendriksen, and Anthony A. Hoekema, all amillennialists, yet strong proponents of the infallibility of the Scriptures.

B. Concerning the Millennium

Among conservative amillennialists two views exist concerning the Millennium. One sees fulfillment of millennial passages to be in the present age by the church on earth (e.g., Allis and Berkhof). The other finds fulfillment by the saints in heaven now (e.g., Warfield and Floyd Hamilton). Both views agree that there will be no future earthly kingdom.

C. Concerning the Covenants

Premillennialists lean on the argument that the biblical covenants contain promises yet unfulfilled and requiring an earthly Millennium if they are fulfilled literally. Amillennialists say that those promises are fulfilled spiritually in the church, or that the promises need not be fulfilled at all since they were conditional and the conditions were not met.

D. Concerning the Church

Amillennialists see the church as fulfilling God’s promises in an antitypical and spiritual way. The church is a heavenly, spiritual kingdom, whereas the Millennium of premillennialism is a carnal, earthly kingdom. (But cannot the church be described as earthly and carnal? And cannot the future kingdom be described as spiritual?) The church fulfills the promises, and the new heaven and new earth which immediately follow the Church Age consummate history.

III. THE HERMENEUTICS OF AMILLENNIALISM

Unquestionably, different millennial views result from different hermeneutics, that is, different interpretive principles. Premillennialists use literal or normal interpretation in all areas of biblical truth while amillennialists employ a nonliteral or spiritual principle in the area of eschatology. All conservatives, whatever their eschatological persuasions, use literal or normal interpretation everywhere except eschatology. Floyd Hamilton, an amillennialist, acknowledges that “a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures” (The Basis of Millennial Faith [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1942], p. 38). The amillennialist, of course, does not accept that picture of the future because he employs a different hermeneutic in the area of prophecy.

While writers generally do not detail their hermeneutics before detailing their commentaries or developing their theologies, Oswald T. Allis (in Prophecy and the Church (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1945], pp. 17-30) does discuss the hermeneutical principles he employs in interpreting prophecy. I want to summarize his ideas about how to interpret prophecy and briefly interact with them.

(1) He first seeks to establish that both the literal and figurative methods of interpretation have their proper places and their necessary limitations. However, he seems to place all the limitation on the literal and none on the figurative.

(2) Some of those limitations on literal interpretation include: (a) the presence of figures of speech which cannot be interpreted literally; (b) the fact that the main theme of the Bible is spiritual gives validity to figurative or spiritual interpretation; and (c) the fact that the Old Testament is preliminary and preparatory to the New Testament causes us to expect that the New Testament will interpret the literal Old Testament prophecies in a figurative manner.

No literalist denies that the Bible contains figures of speech. But he insists that they depict very literal truths. For example, the best roses grown in the part of the country where I live are grown in Tyler, Texas. Tyler roses are famous. Now, if I see an advertisement that says, use such-and-such brand of fertilizer and you too can grow Tyler roses, I do not understand this to mean that I must live in the city of Tyler but that wherever I live I can grow the same kind of magnificent roses that are grown in Tyler. The figure of speech has a very literal and plain meaning about the actual roses I can grow. Tyler roses means roses, not tomatoes; but Tyler roses also stands for roses that are outstanding whether actually grown in Tyler or not.

(3) If his first two theses be true, then the question naturally arises, how does one know whether to interpret a passage literally or figuratively? Allis’ answer is, whichever gives the true meaning of the passage! Comment is unnecessary.

(4) Allis continues by saying that the only way prophecy can be understood literally is when its literal meaning is clear and obvious. Almost all prophecy is filled with figurative and parabolic language which must be interpreted accordingly. So in reality, most prophecy will be interpreted nonliterally.

(5) To interpret and understand a prophecy correctly and fully, its fulfillment must also be known. Every prophecy ever given was given before its fulfillment was known. Otherwise it would not have been a prophecy. If we follow Allis’ principle, then no prophecy could ever have been or will be understood until after the fulfillment came. No Israelite needed to have taken the prophecies about the coming Assyrian or Babylonian Captivities literally, because he could not be sure those prophecies would be fulfilled literally until the Captivities actually happened. By such a principle of interpretation, what force would those prophecies have had? But, you see, amillennialists want to be able to claim that we cannot be sure that the Old Testament prophecies concerning the millennial kingdom will be fulfilled literally because no such kind of fulfillment has yet come to pass. But since the church has some similar characteristics to the kingdom, the church must be fulfilling those Old Testament prophecies.

(6) As if to reinforce his idea that we should expect a vagueness in how to interpret prophecy, Allis, throughout his discussion of hermeneutics, characterizes prophecy as indefinite, enigmatical, even deceptive, filled with symbols, imprecise, and subject to various interpretations. These are his phrases, not mine. But, of course, those alleged characteristics are true only if the interpreter abandons the principles of literal or normal interpretation.

IV. INTERPRETIVE EVIDENCES FOR AMILLENNIALISM

Amillennialists interpret certain key passages and doctrines in ways that support their system.

A. Interpretation of the Abrahamic Covenant

Premillennialists point out that if the yet unfulfilled part of that covenant is to be fulfilled literally (the promise of the land of Palestine), this will have to occur in a future Millennium, since there has been no place in past or present history for a literal fulfillment. Amillennialists say that we need not expect a future fulfillment because either (a) the promises were conditional and the conditions were never met; or (b) the land promise was fulfilled in the time of Joshua (Josh. 21:43-45); or (c) it was fulfilled under King Solomon (1 Kings 4:21); or (d) it is now being fulfilled by the church; or (e) it is fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem. I only observe that each of those five suggestions negates the validity of the other four. One receives the impression that the amillennialist does not really know how or when the Abrahamic Covenant should be fulfilled. He is only certain that it will not be in a future, earthly Millennium.

B. Interpretation of Ephesians 3:5

To the amillennialist the mystery in this passage is that the church actually was in the Old Testament and therefore fulfills those Old Testament promises. This was discussed under the church.

C. Daniel’s Seventy Weeks

Amillennialists have certain common features in their interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27. These include: (a) the beginning of the seventy weeks was in 536 B.C. in the time of Cyrus, not (as premillennialists say) in 445 B.C. under Artaxerxes. This has the effect of allowing the seventy sevens to be imprecise in duration. (b) The seventieth week is the entire Church Age, not a future seven-year period of Tribulation.

These characteristic interpretations of amillennialism stem from not consistently practicing literal interpretation.

V. HISTORY OF AMILLENNIALISM

A. From the New Testament to Augustine

Up to the time of Origen (ca. 185-ca. 254), stress on a literal hermeneutic caused the apologists to be premillennial. The fathers felt that they were in the last days and expected the immediate second coming of Christ to bring in the kingdom. Origen, using an allegorical method of interpretation, spiritualized the future kingdom and understood it to be the present Church Age from Adam on. This amillennial eschatology was popularized by Augustine.

B. Augustine (354-430)

By spiritualizing the concept of the kingdom, Augustine made it mean the existence of the church in this world. The Millennium is the time between the first and second comings of Christ. “During the ‘thousand years’ when the devil is bound, the saints also reign for a ‘thousand years’ and, doubtless, the two periods are identical and mean the span between Christ’s first and second coming” (City of God, XX. 9). However, he understood the binding of Satan not to mean that Satan has no power to deceive, but that during this interadvent period he is not allowed to exercise his full powers. Just before the end, Satan will be free to deceive the nations against the church, a rebellion which God will put down. This will be followed by the general judgment and eternal state.

Augustine did understand the thousand years literally and expected that the second coming of Christ would occur within 1,000 years after His ascension. When the year 1000 came and went without the Second Coming occurring, the thousand years were spiritualized to mean an indefinite period of time or the whole period between the first and second comings of Christ.

C. Reformation Eschatology

The great leaders of the Reformation were amillennial in their eschatology. They were content to follow the Roman church’s teaching which in turn followed Augustine.

Luther saw the Great Tribulation and the bodily return of Christ. He believed he was in the midst of that Tribulation. As many did, Luther also divided history into six ages of 1,000 years each, followed by the seventh age of eternal Sabbath rest. He taught that the sixth age was the age of the popes, beginning in 1076 but not lasting the full thousand years. Thus he believed that he was living in the time just before the Second Advent.

Calvin taught that Israel and the church were the same and looked for the Second Coming to usher in a general resurrection and judgment and the eternal state. He did criticize chiliasm, describing its teachings as “fiction,” “insult,” “dream,” and “intolerable blasphemy.” He objected strenuously to a thousand-year limitation on the eternal blessedness of the saints (a misunderstanding of what premillennialism taught).

D. The Modern Era

Though Augustinian amillennialism is generally followed in this modern time (i.e., the Millennium is the interadvent period on earth), another form of amillennialism arose. B.B. Warfield (following Klieforth who wrote in 1874) taught that the Millennium is the present state of the saints in heaven (Biblical Doctrines [New York: Oxford, 1929], pp. 643-4). In general Reformed creeds say little about the millennial question, focusing rather on the general resurrection and judgment and eternity. One of the popular reasons for preferring amillennialism over premillennialism contrasts the premillennial concept of fulfillment in an earthly kingdom (usually the adjective carnal is placed with this phrase) with the amillennial concept of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in the church in this age (and usually the adjective spiritual is put with this phrase). Thus the system which emphasizes the spiritual church rather than the carnal kingdom is to be preferred. When I hear or read this argument, I want to ask, since when is the church only spiritual and the kingdom only carnal? The church (look around) has carnal people in it, and the kingdom will have many spiritual facets to it. Spiritual and carnal characterize both the church and the future kingdom.

Always, of course, the conclusive evidence for the truth of a doctrine is not historical but exegetical.

I. A DEFINITION OF PREMILLENNIALISM

Premillennialism is the view that holds that the second coming of Christ will occur prior to the Millennium which will see the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on this earth for a literal 1,000 years. It also understands that there will be several occasions when resurrections and judgments will take place. Eternity will begin after the 1,000 years are concluded. Within premillennialism there are those who hold differing views as to the time of the Rapture.

II. DOCTRINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PREMILLENNIALISM

A. Concerning the Bible

Premillennialists hold a high view of Scripture. It is probably safe to say that pretribulational premillennialists believe in the inerrancy of the Bible almost without exception.

B. Concerning the Millennium

All forms of premillennialism understand that the Millennium follows the second coming of Christ. Its duration will be 1,000 years; its location will be on this earth; its government will be theocratic with the personal presence of Christ reigning as King; and it will fulfill all the yet-unfulfilled promises about the earthly kingdom.

While premillennialists generally view the coming kingdom literally, some interpret it less so. For George E. Ladd the prophecies concerning Israel are spiritualized, and the millennial kingdom is viewed more as an extension of the spiritual kingdom of God (A Theology of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974], pp. 64-9, 629-32). For Robert Mounce the thousand years of Revelation 20 are literal, but the coming kingdom is not “the Messianic Age foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament” (The Book of Revelation [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977], p. 359).

C. Concerning The Church

Premillennialists understand that the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant giving to Abraham’s descendants the land from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates has never been fulfilled but will be fulfilled in the coming millennial kingdom (Gen. 15:18). The promises of the Davidic Covenant also necessitate the establishment