The next area of difference that affects how we view Revelation concerns eschatology – one's basic
theological framework for future events based on the whole teachings of the Bible, not just Revelation.
I will state my biases right off the bat. I haven't found any one system that is completely satisfying, but
I waver between an amillennial and a historical premillennial understanding. The only way you can get
a completely unbiased picture of these various views is by consulting something like the book The
Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, edited by Robert G. Clouse, since it allows representatives
from each school to have his say with rebuttals from the other three.
Despite the many differences between thevarious schemes for the future, all believe in a millennium,
Christ's Second Coming, Last Judgment and eternity for believers in resurrected bodies. However,
some of these events are interpreted differently by each group.
A. postmillenialism This is an optimistic view of the future in which Christians will gradually
create a heaven on earth, which will be blessed by Christ at his coming.
The first formulation of this theology probably dates to middle of the 17th century with the rise of the
Enlightenment. It was espoused by great Christian leaders such as Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) and
Charles Hodge (1797-1878) and was the predominant view of most American denominations in the
time between the Civil War and World War I. It was also the more or less official view of the Southern
Baptist churches. WWI and II practically destroyed any belief in an optimistic future for mankind.
Surprisingly, this view is making a comeback among some Pentacostal and charismatic churches who
see positive signs of the Holy Spirit purifying the church and restoring its power.
Positive Side-- It is an optimistic view of what the church can accomplish in society.
The Negative Points far outweigh the positives:
One can easily slide into a view where the church’s only purpose is to
promote worthy social causes -– as with some mainline churches today
which have even abandoned the notion of a Second Coming altogether.
There is virtually no biblical basis for this view; only one Scripture was
cited by the postmillennialist in the 4 Views book).
It is heavily influenced by “signs of the times.” It is a minority view
that I won't mention from now on.
B. amillennialism This name is really a misnomer since this view treats the millennium as the
church age we are presently in. It is a more nuanced view than the optimistic view of the
postmillennialists. There will be cycles of good times and bad times throughout this age. At one
of the bad times (tribulation), Christ will come again to earth to judge the righteous and
unrighteous and usher in the new heaven and new earth. This has been the historical and (for
the most part) present view of Catholics at least since Augustine: 354-430 AD, the churches
rising out of the Reformation (especially Calvinists), and the Restoration churches (churches of
Christ, Disciples of Christ).
Positive – This has been the major belief system during the last 2000 years, exhibits a cautious
and careful approach to Scripture, is not dogmatic on details, is little influenced by current
events, accommodates all swings in history, is an approach which discourages date-setting, and
holds to an imminent view of the Second Coming. As demonstration of its fad-proof nature,
one standard amillennial text is William Hendricksen's More Than Conquerers -- copyright
1939, reprinted many times with no revisions necessary, and still in print even though it is
admittedly not the most exciting book to read.
Negative—It is not as strictly literal as some other approaches, is not an exciting viewpoint so it
has gotten virtually no press, their scholars tend to talk to themselves, and is disappointing in
not answering details of many passages. It places little emphasis on the future fulfillment of
many OT prophecies regarding the Jewish people since the feeling is that most have been
fulfilled already in OT times or upon Christ's coming or were conditional upon Israel's
obedience.
C. historical premillenialism (also called post-trib premillenialism)
This is a more pessimistic view in which society goes downhill, especially toward the
end. After a short period of tribulation which Christians will probably have to endure,
Christ comes again to institute a millennial reign of peace on earth (which may or may
not be exactly 1000 years long) prior to the last judgment and new heaven and earth.
Proponents of this view usually feel that the Bible does not intend to offer a detailed
description of these eschatological events. There is a general feeling that there will
probably be some unspecified role for the Jews during this time period. Various versions
of premillennialism have been around almost since the beginning of Christianity, but
were also the predominant view of several heretical groups, and so it was rejected by the
early Catholic Church. It is the primary view of many well-respected evangelical
scholars and leaders of previous generations and the present time.
Premillenialists are divided among themselves as to whether Christians will be removed from the earth
prior to the time of tribulation or not. Most historical premillenialists fall into the post-tribulation
camp. Most dispensational premillentialists (see below) are pre-trib rapture proponents.
Suggested reference on the rapture: Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Paul D. Feinberg, Douglas J. Moo and
Richard R. Reiter, The Rapture: Pre-, Mid-, or Post-Tribulational?, Academie Books, 1984. Proponents
of each view tend to look only at their favorite passages that appear to confirm their view. Let's look
for example at some passages in Matthew 24.
Pre-trib: “For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days
before the flood they were eating and drinking...and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept
them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be
taken and one will be left...” (Matthew 24:37-41) The assumption is that those taken are the believers so
that they will not have to endure the tribulation.
Post-trib: “Immediately after the suffering of those days...then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven...and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And his angels...will gather his elect from the four winds...” (Matthew 24:29-31)
This view is held by most historical premillennialists as well as amillennialists, based on indications in
Revelation that the believers will have to endure the tribulation period. Remember that one of the key
themes in the whole book is giving encouragement to believers to bear up in a time of persecution and
suffering.
Mid-trib: “For at that time there will be great suffering, such has not been from the beginning of the world until now...and if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21-22)
The third option, which splits the difference between these views, is that roughly halfway through the
tribulation period, the believers will be translated into heaven.
As we mentioned in an earlier post, the mid-trib position may possibly be supported by the various
references to a 3 ½ year period in Revelation:
Revelation 11:2-- nations will trample over the holy city for 3 ½ years;
Revelation 11:3-12-- witnesses prophesy for 3 ½ years and are martyred, but God raises them up;
Revelation 12:6,14—the woman was given wings to escape the dragon and taken to a place where she
could be nourished for 3 ½ years;
Revelation 13:5-7—beast is allowed to make war on the saints for 3 ½ years.
One of the most pertinent passages in Revelation is probably found in Chapter 7 where at least some, if
not all, of the believers are said to be “sealed” before the disasters begin. Even that passage, however,
leaves it unclear whether they will be protected from ultimate harm while undergoing the tribulation on
earth or will be removed from it entirely at some point.
Most of the pros and cons with historical premillennialism are the same as those of amillennialists.
Both are ancient views held by early Christians; both are cautious in their interpretations and don't
offer a lot of detailed scenarios for the future; both begin with the clearer passages in the Bible and
don't try to speculate on the more obscure ones; and both are rather boring.
This is why some amillennial and historical premillennial scholars teamed up to write Handbook of
Biblical Prophecy in 1977. The individual chapters are written by authors who represent a Who's Who
of prominent evangelical scholars on subjects such as the nature of OT prophecy, the relation between
Israel and the Church, the Tribulation, etc. This book was written in large part to combat the media
blitz given to the last point of view to be mentioned.
D. dispensationalism – a subset of pre-trib rapture premillenialism.
It contains certain characteristics not found in historical premillenialism. Many of their views are based
heavily on OT prophecy and apocalyptic writings such as the Book of Daniel taken in a fairly literal
way as referring to future events. Whereas historical premillennialism begins primarily with the
teachings of Christ and Paul to help explain the OT prophetic passages, dispensationalism starts with
Old Testament prophecies and NT apocalyptic teachings. In other words, they practice an entirely
different hermeneutic principle. There is a heavy emphasis also on the Jewish nature of the millennial
period (Christ will rule from a throne in Jerusalem, all the Jews on earth will convert to Christianity and
they will become the new evangelists to convert the Gentiles, the temple will be rebuilt, animal
sacrifices reinstituted, etc.). A common comment from dispensationalists is that the church period for
the last 2,000 years is only a parenthesis in God’s plans for his chosen people, the Jews.
This school of thought did not arise from famous theologians, divinity schools or seminaries. It has a
fairly recent history. John Darby was an English lawyer by training and a lay teacher in the Plymouth
Brethren, a small fundamentalist denomination from which he later split off to found the even smaller
Exclusive Brethren (Garrison Keillor was raised in one of these churches). Darby first formulated the
major points of dispensationalism around 1850 while recuperating from a fall from a horse. Two main
distinctives were a secret Coming of Christ so that the Second Coming really became the Third
Coming, and seeing the Millennial Period of Revelation as the time when all the prophesied promises
to Israel could be literally fulfilled. The businessman and later evangelist Dwight Moody could not
understand why none of the Bible seminaries of his day was teaching along the lines of Darby’s
interpretations so he founded his own (Moody Bible Institute) in 1886 to train pastors in its theology.
The next important personage in this story is C. I. Scofield, who represents a real conversion story. He
started out as a lawyer and shady politician forced to resign during a scandal. He was a hard drinker
who abandoned his wife and two children. After his converted to Christianity he eventually became an
ordained minister who worked with Moody in 1879. He wrote the first real American study Bible in
1909, which was extremely popular among laymen, who sometimes assumed that the notes were divine
also. He was followed by Clarence Larkin, a draftsman who around 1920 turned the complicated
scenarios of dispensationalism into prophetic charts so as to more easily visualize the events
Later in 1924, church leaders decided to found a similar Bible institute further west (Dallas
Theological Seminary). The popularity of dispensationalism increased greatly after creation of the
State of Israel. The Bible church movement largely came out of DTS and was very attractive to those
wishing to escape denominational ties. Hal Lindsay was a student at DTS when he took his lecture
notes and paired up with a professional journalist Carole Carlson, a ghostwriter for other evangelical
leaders, to write The Late Great Planet Earth. This, and subsequent books, were best sellers and
directly influenced the current rash of futurific novels and movies like the Left Behind series, all from
a dispensational point of view. Starting in the 1990's teachers such as Darrell Bock and other
dispensationalists began to embrace a movement called Progressive Dispensationalism, which moves
their beliefs a little closer back into the Historical Premillennial camp.
Pros
It is the most literal interpretation of all views
It takes Old Testament prophecies seriously
It is the most detailed viewpoint
It is the most exciting viewpoint and encourages interest in the Word
It is probably the majority view among evangelical laity
Cons
Relatively new understanding of the Bible (Was this a secret hidden for almost 2000 years?)
Discounts the possibility that Christians may have to suffer during the Tribulation (despite the
emphasis on those who conquer adversity in Revelation)
Utilizes dubious hermeneutical principles (This comment sounds very elitist, but this viewpoint has a
much stronger following among laymen than among those who have attended seminaries.)
Overly detailed where the Bible is not really that clear. (often raises more questions than it answers)
To take one example of the last point, consider Walvoord's The Millennial Kingdom in which he
explains the many types of bodies that will coexist during this time period:
1. The resurrected OT and NT saints (no sin nature, can't die again but can't propagate)
2. Believers raptured before the Tribulation (no sin nature, can't ever die but can't propagate)
3. Converted survivors of the Tribulation (sin nature?, can't ever die and can propagate)
4. The children of this last group
a. who choose to follow Christ (sin nature, can't die and can propagate)
b. who choose to reject Christ (sin nature, will live to about 100 years and can propagate)
Walvoord explains that certain groups of these people will be given preference to serve in various
governmental positions and as priests in the temple.
Dispensationalism also lends itself to extreme views more than other forms of eschatology.
a. Discounting major portions of Christ’s teachings as not applying to us today (either only applied
during his lifetime like the Lord's Prayer or apply only to the tribulation period or the millennial
kingdom)-- hyper-dispensationalism. Parables are parceled out as applying to various time frames only.
b. Borders on Judaizer’s teachings especially in the restoration of animal sacrifices
c. Specific interpretations rely heavily on current events
d. Time setting temptation can have paradoxical effects
(i) Discounting Jesus' imminent return since all the events haven't played out yet
such as the website on “26 signs in exact sequence before Christ's return.”
(ii) Discounting any long-range planning. My wife and I have personally witnessed very sad
examples of this behavior among Christians who felt that Christ was coming in the next year and made
all of their plans in accordance with that belief.
e. Sensationalism Just look on the internet
f. Tendency to label other viewpoints as heretical Because I couldn't say that I specifically
endorsed a dispensationalist viewpoint, I was told by one member of my Sunday school class that I
must not be a Christian, and at another church I was not allowed to become a member. On the other
hand, I must freely admit that at times I have tended to question the intelligence of those who believe
in dispensationalism.
Whether we brand those of another viewpoint as fools or as heretics, neither response is a healthy one.
We all need to develop more tolerance toward one another's viewpoints while still insisting on a
responsible interpretation of Scripture.
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