Posted on 06/19/2012 1:55:20 PM PDT by wmfights
In this article, we first examined the tap root that contributed to the rejection of a literal thousand-year kingdom on earth, the dominant view for the first two centuries of the church, in favour of a spiritualized kingdom unlimited in duration (amillennialism). The single factor: the adoption of an allegorical hermeneutic, which replaced the literal or face-value hermeneutic of Jesus and the apostles. Four sub-roots fed this hermeneutical shift. First: the anti-Jewish bias of the early church developed as a result of a church dominated by gentile believers. Second: an overreaction to heresy, which included the condemnation not only of heretical doctrines, but chiliasm as well. Third: the adoption of Platonic and Gnostic teachings on the evil of the material world which led to a rejection of a material, earthly future kingdom. And fourth and finally: the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. The church no longer looked for the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom and rescue believers from persecution, but instead saw the newly-found freedom and prominence of the church as the fulfillment of the promises of a future kingdom.
(Excerpt) Read more at rapturenotes.com ...
What a great way to think about it!
I thought this article was really interesting because it refutes the mistake that Premillenialism is a recent "fad". Premillenialism was the dominant view in the first couple centuries of Christianity.
Thanks for your input. :-)
I have no interest in his historian credentials. But I do know that not only did he have no knowledge of Scripture, he had absolutely no credibility in his attempt to discredit it.
I read much of the first link. Murry calls them postmills not premills.
The posters think man is good enough to force them to be even better and thus create a kingdom good enough to hand over to Jesus.
Eventually the churches that buy into this will discover they have made a bargain with the devil and their churches will be replaced with a world govt.
Love your input GN!
And I love the articles that you post!!
Hey, just as long as they are with us. If not they are in for a very tough time.
They do need to know that after that it’s death for Christ or hell.
I follow what happens to our Brothers and Sisters in Christ that are being persecuted now and doubt I have half their faith. I can't imagine how those that have to live through the Tribulation will hold up.
One of the problems with the pre-trib rapture view is that is a modern, Western European/American invention, that only works in Western culture.
Scripture is for all men, in all times.
One of the problems with the pre-trib rapture view is that people focus on the rapture...the easy escape from suffering...Christians all over the world may be put through the meat grinder of suffering, but they expect to be raptured out of the same in America. Look those Christians in the face, and tell them their tribulations do not count.
If your focus is on the rapture over the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, your focus is on the wrong thing.
Scripture is it's own interpreter; it's own dictionary. Take 1 Thessalonians 4:12 to 18 and test it by Scripture. For a start, for every redeemed,regenerated Christian, the Lord Jesus has already come, and we live in His presence. Eph 2: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him, in the Heavenly places, in Christ Jesus...
To consign these Scriptures to some future, one time, fabulous event robs believers of their blessing,comfort,and encouragement for the Right Now. Instead of focusing the rapture Christian should be sharing the Gospel of salvation with as many as possible.
For God so loved the world, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
I think the first step for a lot of Christians who just haven't studied eschatology very much is to look at for themselves. The catch phrases about Premillenialism being a "recent fad" just aren't true. From what I've read Premillenialism and a literal interpretation of Scripture were "orthodoxy" until the rise of the hierarchical structure and then church-state model. It's not surprising that as the church-state model devolved the growth of Evangelical Premillenial Christians would happen.
The reality is amillenialism and allegorical interpretation are the "new kids on the block".
For example, Jesus Christ tells us that when He makes His literal, physical return to earth at His Second Advent, He brings His bride, also known as the Church, with Him:
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:11-16)
We know that the armies which accompany Christ when He returns to earth and are clothed in white and clean linen refer to the Church from Revelation 19:7-9:
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
So if the Church is in Heaven at the time that Christ returns to earth to set up His millennial kingdom, how did the Church come to be in Heaven?
It is one thing to misunderstand Scripture, and, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, search the Bible and come to a clear understanding of what God has told us about various topics, and to be presented with the Scripture, which is inerrant and absolutely true, and deny it outright in favor of a doctrine which has no support in Scripture whatsoever.
Amillenialism and allegorical interpretation originated with men who acted on their own "wisdom", with no authority from God and no validation of their beliefs from Scripture, and those false doctrines have stubbornly hung around, even after fulfilled prophecies down through the centuries have proven beyond any shadow of doubt that ammillenalism and allegorical interpretation are in direct conflict and contradiction with the Word of God.
“They adopted a theology which they felt best fit the current events, rather than holding to the Scriptures as the only source of authority.”
Well, I think the pre-trib rapture crowd isn’t much better, since they adopt a theology that fits with their desires, rather than holding to Scriptures as the only source of authority. They get the premillenial/postmillenial question right, but then, out of a desire to not face the possibility of enduring the Tribulation, they search for any phrase they can take out of context to support a pre-trib view.
As far as I’ve been able to determine, the most literal reading of Scripture is a premillenial, post-tribulation one.
So if the Church is in Heaven at the time that Christ returns to earth to set up His millennial kingdom, how did the Church come to be in Heaven?
Can’t mean what it can’t mean, can it. Therefore, there’s a problem with understanding the Scripture.
Obviously, The Lord Jesus is not going to look like a sheep at the feast of the Lamb, and the Church will not fit in a white dress. Some things are symbolic and some things are not.
Therefore, search the Scripture and look for the answer there.
To be clear, this is not an essential issue in my mind.
One hopes each of us approaches the Scripture with an open mind/heart. Any bending of it from either view is not good.
The article makes the point that the premill view is not Western/modern only.
The hope and comfort aspect can be seen just the opposite of your opinion. The trials of current Christians are going to be rewarded by Jesus, these are the wrath of man. They may know He may come for them at any time, sparing them the Wrath of God on the earth, and take comfort from it.
I myself look to the imminent rapture, prior to the Wrath of God on the earth, as the soonest possible living meeting with Him. This is the anticipitory hope and comfort the Scriptures discuss.
I get up knowing this could be the day, not saying to myself, seven years from today could be the day.
As far as being now with Jesus as a believer on earth, I take joy from it and shine it as I can. I look for more joy to come.
I hope that some take the time to actually read the articles and think it through for themselves. Most of these articles quote Scripture and have footnoted the comments about the history of the times.I think the first step for a lot of Christians who just haven't studied eschatology very much is to look at for themselves.
Looking into it for myself is how I moved from "yeah, whatever" to rejecting the dispensational model.
he catch phrases about Premillenialism being a "recent fad" just aren't true.
Dispensationalism is new. Dr. Vlach himself, whom you've quoted extensively in prior threads, admits that. Dispensationalism is not the only flavor of premil-ism.
From what I've read Premillenialism and a literal interpretation of Scripture were "orthodoxy" until the rise of the hierarchical structure and then church-state model.
n this article, we first examined the tap root that contributed to the rejection of a literal thousand-year kingdom on earth, the dominant view for the first two centuries of the church, in favour of a spiritualized kingdom unlimited in duration (amillennialism). The single factor: the adoption of an allegoric etc. etc.
Have you ever actually read Augustine's City of God, Book 20?
"Offer ends June 20, 2012." Get 'em while their hot.
CC to some other saints that might be interested.
Eventually the churches that buy into this will discover they have made a bargain with the devil and their churches will be replaced with a world govt.
Reconstructionists. R. J. Rushdoony. Dominion Theology.
Already thoroughly proven not pragmatic.
While the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God share many features, there are important issues which differentiate them. They are not the same. Matthew 13 is about the Kingdom of Heaven which was announced by John Baptist to the Jewish nation as being imminent and available right then, through Jesus. Jesus also proclaimed this until John's death.
KOH only appears in Matthew, and it was of this world. Through Herod, the Jews' King, by rejecting John's message, the Jews rejected the rulership of God in the flesh, and the moment of national redemption passed.
Subsequent to John's martyrdom, Jesus focused solely on the KOG -- "My Kingdom is not of this world."
Take a look at Comparison of The Kingdom of Heaven and The Kingdom of The God
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