Post by Soulfyre on Jan 28, 2005 2:22:18 GMT -5
I have been promising this for so long that I thought I should actually get around to it (and shame on all of those of you who are thinking about mailing me a "round tuit"!). Premillennialism, in brief, is the teaching that after a time of apostasy and judgement, Jesus Christ will return to earth to occupy the throne of David and rule an earthly kingdom for 1000 years during which Satan will be bound, prior to a final rebellion when Satan is again released a final time to deceive the nations, the final judgment, and the establishment of a new heaven and new earth. Often it is assumed, erroneously, that this belief is a comparatively recent product of dispensationalism, thought to have begun with J. N. Darby, and later popularized by Lewis Sperry Chafer, Dallas Theological Seminary, and the Scofield Study Bible. George Eldon Ladd cogently argues that premillennialsim (which he refers to as historic premillennialism), was the common belief of the early church--a belief that didn't change appreciably until the time of Augustine, who espoused amillennialism.
There is a fine shading of difference between Dispensational Premillennialism and Classic or Historic Premillennialism. While both, contrary to the article End Times in Theopedia, lay claim to what is known as the grammatico-historical method of interpretation, Dispensational Premillennialists believe that God made promises to Israel in the Old Testament which are not fulfilled by the church, but rather remain to be literally fulfilled after the "church age", also referred to as the "time of the Gentiles." Historical Premillennialists view the church as the spiritual heir to Israel and the vehicle through whom all God's promises are fulfilled.
God bless and keep you,
Matthew (soulfyre)
There is a fine shading of difference between Dispensational Premillennialism and Classic or Historic Premillennialism. While both, contrary to the article End Times in Theopedia, lay claim to what is known as the grammatico-historical method of interpretation, Dispensational Premillennialists believe that God made promises to Israel in the Old Testament which are not fulfilled by the church, but rather remain to be literally fulfilled after the "church age", also referred to as the "time of the Gentiles." Historical Premillennialists view the church as the spiritual heir to Israel and the vehicle through whom all God's promises are fulfilled.
God bless and keep you,
Matthew (soulfyre)