Craig Blaising, in The Millennium: Three Views, contrasted two types of eschatology: Spiritual vision eschatology and New Creation eschatology. Importantly, both of the other contributors, post and amill, agreed with him.
The Spiritual Vision model holds, following Augustine, that the hope of the Christian is not eartly, but heavenly and the purified soul apprehending the vision of God.
The New Creation model holds to a restored earth (see the fantastic work by amillennialist Anthony Hoekema).
Irenaeus describes the eschaton this way,
Quote:
|
The Days will come when vines shall grown, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each twig, ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metres of wine (e.g., grape juice). And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me.
|
Against Heresies, 5.33