Eschatology or Eschaconfusion?

[Bob66]

I don’t think I ever gave Eschatology a serious thought as a young married man in 1970 until Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” came out......I thought WOW......for about a month or two, until I researched the subject and gave it a lot of thought. Too many holes, in that theory.....Lindsey was a great book salesman, but a little off in credibility.........So, I put that all that out of mind until I found myself in a Sunday School class about 15 years ago, taught by an Elder who was so Postmillennial that anyone who dared to question that position was left with little doubt that they obviously didn’t understand Reformed theology. Over the years since then, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you created a scale to measure Eschatology you could put the Hal Lindsey Dispensationalist on one extreme end, and the Preterist or half wrong Preterist Postmillilenial crowd on the other, with Amillennialism somewhere in the middle, and likely none of the above actually in any real solid grasp of the subject....I have listened to a lot of very well educated Reformed leaders, over the years, who perhaps in this subject are educated beyond their capacity and who all too often have stated their views as “the best understanding” and too bad all the others don’t see the light.....I would think that Dispensationalist would surely realize that they do not have the ability to forecast the end times as though God revealed to them all the details, and I would also assume that the Postmillennial side surely ought to grasp that in a fallen world, we have no indication in history that would lead us to any serious consideration that the Gospel is going to eventually usher in some almost world wide paradise. Unless of course, you put off Christ’s return to maybe thousands of years from now......I find myself on a lot more solid ground simply leaning in the direction that in the last days perilous times will come, and are in fact here right now......We find ourselves living in a kind of contradiction. On the one hand our world seems to be advancing, while on the other side, you can easily visualize that an economic collapse here in this country, for example, or in Europe or Asia, could plunge this new global world economy into chaos beyond our wildest imaginations and perhaps to a quick conclusion. Remember we had WWI and WWII, seems logical we will repeat on a much grander scale at some point.....Or this world could go on for a long time with your basic world wars, famines, and associated calamities...It seems more logical that we will remain in this state, until events we are not capable of really grasping will quickly usher in Christ’s return...In the mean time, I wouldn’t bank on a rapture escape or a paradise on earth

 

[Peairtach]

There is a lot of confusion in this area partly because it's a difficult area of study, where we should sometimes be more tentative in the presentation of our conclusions, and partly because of dispensationalism since the 1830s muddying the waters, and also reactions to dispensationalism.

 

[arapahoepark]

Are you asking a question? making a statement?

Anyway, as for preterist postmils, I would agree in some respects they can be very adamant about their positions like the Dispensationalists. However, I would not rule their position 'extreme' as in unReformed like dispensationalism.

 

[KMK]

I don’t think I ever gave Eschatology a serious thought as a young married man in 1970 until Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” came out......I thought WOW......for about a month or two, until I researched the subject and gave it a lot of thought. Too many holes, in that theory.....Lindsey was a great book salesman, but a little off in credibility.........So, I put that all that out of mind until I found myself in a Sunday School class about 15 years ago, taught by an Elder who was so Postmillennial that anyone who dared to question that position was left with little doubt that they obviously didn’t understand Reformed theology. Over the years since then, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you created a scale to measure Eschatology you could put the Hal Lindsey Dispensationalist on one extreme end, and the Preterist or half wrong Preterist Postmillilenial crowd on the other, with Amillennialism somewhere in the middle, and likely none of the above actually in any real solid grasp of the subject....I have listened to a lot of very well educated Reformed leaders, over the years, who perhaps in this subject are educated beyond their capacity and who all too often have stated their views as “the best understanding” and too bad all the others don’t see the light.....I would think that Dispensationalist would surely realize that they do not have the ability to forecast the end times as though God revealed to them all the details, and I would also assume that the Postmillennial side surely ought to grasp that in a fallen world, we have no indication in history that would lead us to any serious consideration that the Gospel is going to eventually usher in some almost world wide paradise. Unless of course, you put off Christ’s return to maybe thousands of years from now......I find myself on a lot more solid ground simply leaning in the direction that in the last days perilous times will come, and are in fact here right now......We find ourselves living in a kind of contradiction. On the one hand our world seems to be advancing, while on the other side, you can easily visualize that an economic collapse here in this country, for example, or in Europe or Asia, could plunge this new global world economy into chaos beyond our wildest imaginations and perhaps to a quick conclusion. Remember we had WWI and WWII, seems logical we will repeat on a much grander scale at some point.....Or this world could go on for a long time with your basic world wars, famines, and associated calamities...It seems more logical that we will remain in this state, until events we are not capable of really grasping will quickly usher in Christ’s return...In the mean time, I wouldn’t bank on a rapture escape or a paradise on earth

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