Version 0.1.1 – CAO 03 November 2021
Part 1
Background of Eschatology:
Eschatology means “the study of the end times” and encompasses all of Scripture because
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17).
A proper eschatological methodology must take into account Revelation, but also the Gospels, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, etc… We are not covering any of these other books here because I neither have the time nor the deep understanding of them to explain them, let alone in a blog post. There are many more talented theologians out there with PhDs that have written several books on these topics, and I would encourage the reader to buy them, some are listed below.
For a quick understanding of Matthew 24, I taught a Bible study lesson on it, and you can read that here (Matt24_lesson_20210418)
The Four Views of the Millennium:
In Revelation, it talks about a millennial reign but is not quite clear on the timing of said reign. Over the course of church history, there has been a debate on this timing, and it has distilled into four different views. One can be a Christian and believe any of these four views (it is a tertiary matter when it comes to core Christian doctrine), but I would say that there is a sliding scale and some views are more Biblical than others.
The four views are:
- Historic Premillennialism (aka ‘premil’)
- Dispensational Premillennialism (aka ‘dispensationalism’, ‘dispy’)
- Amillennialism (aka ‘amil’)
- Postmillennialism (aka ‘postmil’)
Below I give a very quick overview, but if you’re interested, you can read an article here by the Blue Letter Bible to quickly understand the four views (I highly recommend BLB as an online study Bible). The four views can easily be distinguished temporally (timing). Temporally, Historic Premil and Dispy Premil both believe that Jesus comes before the millennium (both pre-mil views), while Amil and Postmil both believe that Jesus comes after the millennium (both post-mil views). All four views have a variation on what exactly the ‘millennium’ is, some with a golden or semi-golden age of prosperity for Christians, others not. It gets really confusing and differing proponents of each have their own interpretations. Let’s move on.
Historic Premil & Dispy Premil have roughly the same timing, as in, Christ will return before the millennium, then Satan is loosed, then the final judgement comes. Amil & Postmil both have the same timing, as in, we’re currently in the church age (which is a non-literal [aka not 1000 years] millennium and that “Jesus reigns now”) and after the church age Jesus returns in judgement. They only differ in outlook. Amil has more of a pessimistic outlook (from Jesus’ ascension onward, everything is going to get worse before Jesus comes), and Postmil has a more positive outlook (from Jesus’ ascension onward, everything is going to gradually get better before Jesus comes).
I need to make a large disclaimer here for Postmil. The ‘gradual betterness’ of Postmil does not mean unicorns & gumdrops ‘better’, it means humanity’s quality of life has gradually improved since then (aka indoor plumbing, air conditioning, less sickness, longer lifespans, less poverty, etc…), and still believes in ups and downs of life, persecution of the saints, and immorality and lawlessness happening in the world. WWI and WWII, neither nuclear weapons are ‘gotchas’ for the Postmil position. Postmillennialism is not a position of childlike naivety or unrealistic expectations of the future, it instead affirms (and history has proven) that humanity’s quality of life has improved since Christ’s ascension, that Jesus still reigns supreme even though bad things still happen in this world, the Gospel will not be slowed or stopped by the schemes of man or Satan, and Christ’s Kingdom will continue to advance until all His enemies are under His feet.
Dispensationalism Background:
The issue with Dispy Premil is that it has never been a historic Christian view of eschatology. Historic Premil was even a minor position in 1813, but in the 1820s-1830s J. Nelson Darby (called the father of Dispensationalism) came on the scene (p69). He added to Historic Premillennialism the idea of a ‘Great Tribulation’ prior to the return of Christ and the millennium, and eventually published his ideas (p70). Darby even took his ideas to Geneva where he declared that “restoration is impossible in this dispensation” and “we must expect a constant progression of evil” (p70). D.L. Moody eventually created a college expressly for Dispensational thought, but the most influential progression of this view was by the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909 by C.I. Scofield who was greatly inspired by Darby’s writings (p71). It basically boiled down to a pessimistic outlook on the future using “newspaper exegesis” (as in, one would read the news, see awful things, and find Scripture that fits the narrative), which resulted in self-fulfilling prophecies (p71).
When you hear about such-and-such ID or vax being the “mark of the beast”, or locusts in Revelation really meaning helicopters because John wouldn’t have understood what it was, or for some reason God is wanting to create a third temple and recreating sacrifices again (even though we already have a better & perfect temple sacrifice for sins — Jesus), or maybe something about blood moons and red heifers — that’s Dispensationalism. It’s nonsense, unBiblical, and creates confused Christians.
The Four Views Continued:
From my personal and biased opinion, here is how I break them down:
Most Biblical <—————————————————————————> Least Biblical
Postmil—Amil——————Historic Premil—————————————————Dispy
Here are some book recommendations for each:
- Historic Premil:
- A Theology of the New Testament (Dr. George Eldon Ladd)
- Dispy Premil:
- It’s so wrong & convoluted find a different eschatological view. I’m serious.
- Amil:
- Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Dr. Samuel Storms)
- Postmil:
- He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology (Dr. Kenneth Gentry)
- Postmillennialism Made Easy (Dr. Kenneth Gentry)
- Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (Dr. Kenneth Gentry)
- Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillenialism (Dr. Greg Bahnsen)
One thing to note:
On the topic of eschatological views, one thing that I and many others have noticed is that your eschatological view in general determines how you live your life (Again, in general, this is a stereotype and doesn’t always apply).
For instance if you have a pessimistic view, in general you would believe that ‘everything’s going to hell in a hand-basket anyways’ and therefore you might be inclined to live your Christian life in that way. It might look like creating a bunker in your backyard & storing supplies, or not preaching the Gospel to people because ‘I have to take care of my family first’, or being less likely to help your fellow man with physical needs, or in general living in fear because of the bleak future. Again, there is nothing wrong with bunkers or prepping or taking care of your own family, but if your end-times view is bleak, it can cause a Christian to act in a counterproductive way to the walk of Christ. Please keep this in mind and humbly reflect on your own life to see if there is a pattern of pessimism that hinders your walk and growth in Christ or your relationships with others.
Indeed, theologians in the 1800s noticed this same issue with Dispy Premil, stating:
“The imminent return of Christ ‘totally forbids all working for earthly objects distant in time'” – Dr. Greg Bahnsen quoting F.W. Newton (p70)
“Missions had to abandon the aim of establishing Christian institutions and concentrate simply on the conversion of individual souls” – Dr. Greg Bahnsen, paraphrasing A.A. Hodge (p70)
I am Postmil, I believe that Jesus reigns now, and that no scheme of man or Satan will stop or slow Christ’s reign and furtherance of the Gospel, and that humankind’s lives have gradually gotten better.
- Jesus is currently sitting at the right hand of the Father (Mk 16:19; Lk 22:69; Acts 1:9-11, 7:55-56; Rom 8:34; Col 3:1; Heb 10:12-13; 1 Pet 3:22)
- He will continue to press His Kingdom forward on the earth as it is in Heaven (Mt 6:10)
- The gates of Hell cannot and will not stop Christ and the furtherance of His Gospel (Mt 16:18)
- All Christ’s enemies will be defeated being put/ruled/trampled under His feet (Ps 110:1; Isa 66:1; Lk 20:42-43; Acts 2:32-35; 1 Cor 15:23-28; Heb 1:8-13, 10:12-13)
- The last enemy is death (1 Cor 15:23-28)
- Christ, when finished, will hand over everything to the Father (1 Cor 15:24).
Part 2
Background of Revelation:
- What John has seen Rev 1:1 to Rev 1:19
- Current Affairs Rev 1:20 to Rev 3:22
- Hereafter (2 prophecies)
- Israel – Rev 4:1 to Rev 10:10
- Internationally – Rev 10:11 to Rev 20:10
- End of History – Rev 20:11 to Rev 22:21
We also see that there is an urgency to this prophecy:
- “must soon take place” (Rev 1:1; 22:6)
- “the time is near” (Rev 1:3; 22:10)
- “coming soon” (Rev 2:16; 3:11; 22:7; 22:12; 22:20)
The urgency is this prophecy is because the temple was going to be destroyed in 70 A.D. (and it was) by the Roman Army who assaulted and burned Jerusalem and desecrated the temple (they entered the Holy of Holies, this was an “abomination that causes desolation” – refer to Lk 21:20-22 vs. Mt 24:15-16 and Mk 13:14). God was pronouncing judgement on Jerusalem for rejecting their King and Messiah (Jesus). No more would there be a temple to offer sacrifices as Jesus was now the perfect sacrifice for sin for all eternity (Heb 8:12; Heb 9:15; Heb 10:1-23). But the Christians (Jewish and Gentile) that heeded this prophecy, ran to the nearby city of Pella and were spared.
Quick Overview of Revelation’s Symbolism:
- Woman of Rev 12 (Rev 12:1) = Jewish Church/Christians. sun = righteousness of Christ, moon = old sacrificial system which was a shadow (reflection) of Christ’s sacrifice, and twelve stars = twelve tribes of Israel.
- Seed of the Woman (Rev 12:5; 12:17) = Jesus (v5) and Gentile Christians (v17)
- Seven heads (Rev 12:3, 13:1, 17:3-16). Rev 17 says seven heads = seven mountains, also seven kings. Rome has always been known as the “city on seven hills”. The seven heads represent Rome, but also seven kings (emperors) of Rome:
- Julius Caesar (“emperator”, the Jews considered him emperor), assassinated
- Augustus
- Tiberius
- Caligula
- Claudius
- Nero
- “the year of four emperors” 69 AD
- Galba ~7 months, murdered
- Otho, ~3 months, suicide
- Vitellus, ~7 months, executed
- Vespasian = Dec 69 A.D. to June 79 A.D. (9.5 years)
- Julius Caesar (“emperator”, the Jews considered him emperor), assassinated
- Ten horns (Rev 12:3, 13:1, 17:3-16). Horns symbolized power/authority. Rome had ten imperial provinces.
- Sea Beast (Rev 13:1-10). This is the Roman Empire.
- “Mortal Wound” (Rev 13:3). This is referring to several of Rome’s civil wars.
- Land Beast (Rev 13:11-18). This is Nero, which is verified by verse 18’s “666”. This is called gematria, which was a way of using numerals to represent the alphabet. We need to note here that the original Greek (ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ) is translated “Six hundred and sixty six” not “Six Six Six”. This is important to understand the numerals. “Neron Kaiser” (Nero Caesar, written Nrwn Qsr but in Hebrew) was a common name for Nero by the Jews in the first century (proofs: Talmud and the document at Murabba’at). This adds up to 666. Other translations may also use “616” which comes from “Nero Kaiser” (Nrw Qsr, dropping the second “n”). Here’s a quick chart for reference:
Hebrew – Nrwn Qsr | Hebrew – Nrw Qsr |
Neron Caesar | Nero Caesar |
N=50 | N=50 |
R=200 | R=200 |
W=6 | W=6 |
N=50 | ——– |
Q=100 | Q=100 |
S=60 | S=60 |
R=200 | R=200 |
666 | 616 |
- Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:17). This section (v11-18) is in reference to the “Land Beast” (Nero), and this mark specifically refers to emperor worship, that is, worshiping the emperor (or king/ruler) as God Himself or equal to God in authority or power. Nero had an Imperial cult which required sacrifices to him or on his behalf. Christians who were Roman citizens refused any sacrifice to Nero and therefore were cut off from buying or selling during his reign.
- Woman of Rev 17 (Rev 17:3). This is the unbelieving Jews. This woman is wearing the priest’s sacred purple and scarlet robes, jewelry of the temple & of the priestly ephods (gold, jewels, and pearls), on her forehead was written a new name (instead of the Shema, Deu 6:4-5), she was drunk on the blood of martyred saints (Christians). This is an almost word for word retelling of Ezekiel 16. **Please refer to my Matthew 24 Bible Study linked in Part 1**
Conclusion:
<Original work by BenBRockN. Feel free to reblog, ONLY if you give credit to the original author (me). Thanks!>