Eschatology

Status
Not open for further replies.
Greg

Greg

Puritan Board Sophomore
Hello everyone, first time poster here.

Quick background on myself...I've been a Christian since 1993. But it has only been as of late (the past 5-6 months) that I have begun to embrace reformed theology. I still have much to learn about God's Word and I have quite a few questions, so I pray everyone doesn't mind me asking.

I have a question concerning the different views of eschatology. I come from a dispensational background, so that's all I'm really familiar with. From what I've been reading though, I see that there are some other views, such as, postmil, amil, and historical premil.

I want to learn more about each one of these views. What resources/books do you all recommend I read to learn more about them? First as an overview then more indepth. Thanks.

[Edited on 9-5-2005 by Greg]

[Edited on 9-5-2005 by Greg]
 
:welcome: Greg!

Well, there is "The Case for Amillennialism" by Kim Riddlebarger.

Kim was raised dispie and presents a fairly balanced study on Scripture's reasons Amil is feasible --- especially in light of problems with Dispensationalism. (other views are considered there, too)

Another good source: "The Bible and the Future" by Anthony Hoekema

Cheers - and welcome to PB!

Robin
 
Welcome

Hopefully you'll be another in what we hope is the great exodus from Dispensational views. Many on the board are just like you (as was I), raised Dispensational and thought that was it. I'll let others explain views and point to resources, since sometimes I still get a couple of the views mixed up....bottom line, it seems pretty clear what we thought was the only debate, pre trib, mid trib, post trib is out the window. It's all about Amil vs Post Mil around here it seems. And both of those make a lot more since than any Dispensational view I've heard.

Welcome aboard and enjoy the read.:welcome:
 
I am also coming out of Dispensational teaching and have found the Riddlebarger book helpful along with:
Vern Poythress The Returning King (on Revelations)
Anthony A Hoekema The Bible and The Future
Dennis Johnson The Triumph of the Lamb (Revelations)
Good studying, Tim
 
:welcome: Greg, my name is chet and I am also a recovering dispinsationalist that is currently attending the 12 step reformed recovery program, I am currently being prescribed the medication of postmillenielism by my doctor the great physician. I am overjoyed to hear about your search for sanity :handshake:

[Edited on 9-6-2005 by nonconformist]
 
:welcome: I was in your shoes just about a year or so ago. I came in here defending dispensationalism and now am a partial preterist!:eek:

A wonderful book to check out is "Thine is the Kingdom" by Kenneth Gentry.

The book I started with though is "Last Days Madness" by Gary DeMar.
 
Originally posted by houseparent
:welcome: I was in your shoes just about a year or so ago. I came in here defending dispensationalism and now am a partial preterist!:eek:

A wonderful book to check out is "Thine is the Kingdom" by Kenneth Gentry.

The book I started with though is "Last Days Madness" by Gary DeMar.
Click to expand...
:ditto: Awsome books
 
Originally posted by Swampguy
I am also coming out of Dispensational teaching and have found the Riddlebarger book helpful along with:
Vern Poythress The Returning King (on Revelations)
Anthony A Hoekema The Bible and The Future
Dennis Johnson The Triumph of the Lamb (Revelations)
Good studying, Tim
Click to expand...

Poythress...YESSSS! This is a great volume! :up:

R.
 
:welcome:

More Than Conquerors by William Hendriksen.
Paperback ,210 pages and only 14.99 dollars..Straightforward and understandable.
andreas.
 
:welcome:

I would recommend reading Christ's Second Coming: Will It Be Premillennial? by David Brown and The Millennium by Loraine Boettner (which covers all majors views from the postmillennial perspective). God bless your studies!
 
Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Originally posted by puritancovenanter
Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia
Get some of the "Viewpoints" books where each position is presented and debated in written form.
Click to expand...

I agree. That is how I became an Amil.
Click to expand...

Amil? You gnostic! :p
Click to expand...

What? Back in your whole
whack.gif
.
 
I was not raised dispie, but spent a brief time in the dispie camp after I was converted in the early '70s. (The first Christian book I read was The Late Great Planet Earth.)

After a short sojourn through amillennialism, I read An Eschatology of Victory by J. Marcellus Kik. That started to clarify my thinking in this area. Another good book is Messiah the Prince: The Mediatorial Reign of Christ by William Symington.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the replies. :handshake:

Looks like I have plenty of reading to do now. :)
 
Originally posted by Greg
Hello everyone, first time poster here.

Quick background on myself...I've been a Christian since 1993. But it has only been as of late (the past 5-6 months) that I have begun to embrace reformed theology. I still have much to learn about God's Word and I have quite a few questions, so I pray everyone doesn't mind me asking.

I have a question concerning the different views of eschatology. I come from a dispensational background, so that's all I'm really familiar with. From what I've been reading though, I see that there are some other views, such as, postmil, amil, and historical premil.

I want to learn more about each one of these views. What resources/books do you all recommend I read to learn more about them? First as an overview then more indepth. Thanks.

[Edited on 9-5-2005 by Greg]

[Edited on 9-5-2005 by Greg]
Click to expand...

I forgot to say, Greg....if you study Christ's three-fold office: Prophet, Priest, King and how that relates to Covenant theology....eschatology comes into sharper focus! The entire Bible is eschatological in the sense that there are events and language from first to last that reveal God's breaking-into human history repeatedly; crescendoing to the first Advent then to the Second. Don't think eschatology is ONLY the Second Coming and heaven. It's much more....

Robin
 
Welcome to the board, Greg! I can certainly relate to your Dispensational background, being raised in the Assemblies of God myself. As Robin implied above, I would say the most important thing you can do coming from a Dispensational background is to start with a study of Covenant Theology in general, rather than beginning with eschatology. That is because, as Robin implied above, Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology are, at their hearts, entire theological systems on the very nature of God's whole plan of redemption and His outworking of that plan throughout history. Trying to gain a full understanding and appreciation of Reformed eschatology without having a grounded understanding of Covenant Theology is like trying to fully understand and appreciate the significance of Christ's resurrection without already possessing a good understanding of His deity, humanity, perfection and atonement. In like manner, someone's eschatology is simply one outgrowth of the broader view one has on the biblical nature of God's structure and plan of redemption. For that reason, it will be much easier and more rewarding to first study and take to heart the biblical principles of Covenant Theology and then see and appreciate its implications in eschatology, rather than to simply look at Reformed eschatology first and find out its distinctives, and only later discover its true significance and meaning that is rooted in Covenant Theology.

For a very basic, beginning look at Covenant Theology, I would recommend Matthew McMahon's (our webmaster here) book A Simple Overview of Covenant Theology, which can be found at Puritan Publications. Another popular introductory work on the subject is O. Palmer Robertson's The Christ of the Covenants. One of the most respected larger, thorough works on the subject is Herman Witsius' The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man. The Westminster Standards are very explicit in their description of the fundamentals of the system, a helpful online compilation of which can be found here. Some excellent articles on various tenets of Covenant Theology can also be found here.

In any case, I would definitely recommend beginning with a general study of Covenant Theology before focusing on the specifics of eschatology, and beginning that study by reading over the Westminster Standards' sections on the covenants, as well as Matt's introductory book on the topic and some of the Monergism articles linked above.
 
Hi Robin and Chris,

Thanks for that recommendation. That makes alot of sense, especially since all I'm really familiar with is Dispensational theology. I'm going to check out those books first then as you recommended Chris. Again, thanks to everyone for all of the help.
 
I second Johnson's book on Revelation "The Triumph of the Lamb." Excellent.
 
How could I forget recomending "Back to the Future" by Ralph E. Bass. It's a wonderful commentary on the book of Revelation. It was highly recomended by Gary DeMar as well.:up:
 
Originally posted by Me Died Blue
I would say the most important thing you can do coming from a Dispensational background is to start with a study of Covenant Theology in general, rather than beginning with eschatology.
Click to expand...

:ditto:

Actually I would recommend studying hermeneutics first, which should lead you Covenant Theology and finally to Postmillenialism :banana:

In Christ,
David
 
Here might be a good place to start:

Patrick Fairbairn, The Typology of Scripture, viewed in Connection with the Whole Series of the Divine Dispensations. 5th ed. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870). This work, originally printed in two volumes, has been reprinted several times in the 20th century by American publishers, usually in a single volume and under the shortened title The Typology of Scripture. It was reprinted by Funk & Wagnalls Co. in 1900; Zondervan in 1952; Baker Book House in 1975; and, most recently, by Kregel Publications in 2000. The Kregel reprint is available in hardcover (ISBN: 0825426316) and paperback (ISBN: 082542643X) editions.

Patrick Fairbairn, Prophecy Viewed in Respect to its Distinctive Nature, its Special Function, and its Proper Interpretation. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1856. Second edition, 1864. Reprinted as The Interpretation of Prophecy by Banner of Truth Trust in 1964 and in 1996. Hardcover. ISBN: 0851516548.

and,

OPENING SCRIPTURE:
A Hermeneutical Manual Introducing the Exegetical Study of the New Testament
Patrick Fairbairn


[Edited on 9-7-2005 by Answerman]
 
Well put, David. In fact, in his introduction to Witsius' work, Packer even called Covenant Theology itself a hermeneutic.
 
"Hermeneutic" is an adjective. "Hermeneutics" is a noun, like "mathematics".

"Covenant theology is hermeneutics" meaning covenant theology forms a hermeneutical framework is what is being expressed.
 
Originally posted by Answerman
Here might be a good place to start:

Patrick Fairbairn, The Typology of Scripture, viewed in Connection with the Whole Series of the Divine Dispensations. 5th ed. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870). This work, originally printed in two volumes, has been reprinted several times in the 20th century by American publishers, usually in a single volume and under the shortened title The Typology of Scripture. It was reprinted by Funk & Wagnalls Co. in 1900; Zondervan in 1952; Baker Book House in 1975; and, most recently, by Kregel Publications in 2000. The Kregel reprint is available in hardcover (ISBN: 0825426316) and paperback (ISBN: 082542643X) editions.

Patrick Fairbairn, Prophecy Viewed in Respect to its Distinctive Nature, its Special Function, and its Proper Interpretation. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1856. Second edition, 1864. Reprinted as The Interpretation of Prophecy by Banner of Truth Trust in 1964 and in 1996. Hardcover. ISBN: 0851516548.

and,

OPENING SCRIPTURE:
A Hermeneutical Manual Introducing the Exegetical Study of the New Testament
Patrick Fairbairn


[Edited on 9-7-2005 by Answerman]
Click to expand...

Is Fairbairn's typology found any cheaper than list price?
 
Originally posted by tcalbrecht
"Hermeneutic" is an adjective. "Hermeneutics" is a noun, like "mathematics".

"Covenant theology is hermeneutics" meaning covenant theology forms a hermeneutical framework is what is being expressed.
Click to expand...

Indeed, "hermeneutic" (or "hermeneutical") can be used as an adjective, but it is in fact also used as a singular noun. For instance, in the essay by Packer I mentioned above, he states,

What is covenant theology? The straightforward, if provocative answer to that question is that it is what is nowadays called a hermeneutic -- that is, a way of reading the whole Bible that is itself part of the overall interpretation of the Bible that it undergirds. A successful hermeneutic is a consistent interpretative procedure yielding a consistent understanding of Scripture in turn confirms the propriety of the procedure itself. Covenant theology is a case in point. It is a hermeneutic that....
Click to expand...

So hermeneutics involves the asking and use of hermeneutical questions and analysis, guided by and further shaping one's hermeneutic. Relating this back to the intended sucject, I often like to tell people that in simplistic terms, Covenant Theology is not a doctrine that says "there is always continuity on every point in redemptive history," but rather a hermeneutic that says, "assume continuity on ever point in redemptive history until instructed otherwise." And as we know, it is that hermeneutical process that guides our understanding of Covenant Theology and continues to do the same into the logical application of eschatology. Whether one reaches the conclusion of Pre-, A- or Postmillennialism is of course directly guided and influenced by their applicable hermeneutic.
 
With all due respect, there is no word "hermeneutic" as a noun. "Hermeneutics" is a singular noun. Just as there is no noun "mathematic". No one speaks of "a mathematic".

Hermeneutics is the theory of interpretation. You can speak of a hermeneutical framework or hermeneutical principles, but the result of applying such a framework is one's hermeneutics. It is proper to speak of "Calvin's hermeneutics" not "Calvin's hermeneutic".

I think Packer's usage was incorrect.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

RamistThomist
Eschatology change
2 3
Replies
74
Views
6K
VilnaGaon
VilnaGaon
Von
  • Locked
Adam's eschatology
Replies
20
Views
3K
Dachaser
D
Doulos McKenzie
  • Locked
Presbyterians Eschatology
Replies
8
Views
2K
Dachaser
D
RamistThomist
  • Locked
Cocceius' Eschatology?
Replies
6
Views
2K
Reformed Covenanter
Reformed Covenanter
R
  • Locked
Eschatology Question
Replies
5
Views
3K
harvelljr
H
Back
Top