Imperishable Inheritance

I have never taken eschatology as something that I should spend much time worrying about, but that all changed as I was exposed to biblical theology and especially Geerhardus Vos. He, along with other biblical theologians, have helped me to see that the whole of Christian history is eschatological in nature. From the fall until today "the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom 8:19). Further, being exposed to inaugurated eschatology and its role in understanding the Kingdom of God has been a very edifying addition to my understanding of especially the New Testament.

The "Now/Not Yet"

The whole of the New Testament permeates with this inaugurated eschatology. That means that the end has started but is not consummated. It is has implications for how we understand our salvation: we are saved but not completely, we live in the resurrection but not yet resurrected. Through this understanding it gave me a hermeneutical framework in which to understand the millennium of Rev 20.

I'm reading a book right now by Kim Riddlebarger entitled: A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times, and it has proved to be a valuable study for not just eschatology but for understanding the covenental framework of the Scriptures. He shows how inaugurated eschatology is saturated throughout the New Testament scriptures, and how it was a guiding force for John to write Revelation.

Transition in Thought

I have gone from Amil to Historic Premil back to Amil. I was influenced by the work of Anthony Hoekema's writing in Four Views of the Millennium. I was supremely impressed with his exegesis of the relevant eschatological texts especially Rev 20. Understanding that the New Heavens/New Earth will be proceeded by only one general resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked made much more sense then a resurrection of the righteous for the millennium, and another resurrection of the wicked for the final judgement. I am also concerned with the Premil stance, because you would think that a future millennial reign of Christ would be a much talked about topic especially in the words of Jesus and Paul.

Paul and Jesus both seem to have an eschatology that is focused around one more advent followed by judgement. In fact, Paul would say that one "mystery" is enough! Paul said directly in 2 Thess 1:10: "He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day." "That day" is the day that the reprobate "will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess 1:9). In other words, the resurrection is connected to glorification, and it is certainly not separated by 1,000 years in the mind of Paul.

Postmillennial Sympathies

I am sympathetic to the Postmil view, and in all reality I am Postmillennial in the sense that I think Jesus will come back after the millennium; but I don't agree with the premises of Postmillennialism as an eschatological system. In contrast to the optimistic eschatology of Postmil, I have more a pessimistic eschatological outlook on how the state of the world will develop before the second advent of our Lord. I do think the world will see a Christianization in terms of the Gospel reaching all the world's people groups in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. In fact, Jesus, if He had an particular eschatological outlook was one that revolved around the Gospel reaching all the nations. He announces it in the Olivet Discourse: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mat 24:14). Regardless of how we interpret the millennium, it is apparent from the teachings of Jesus and Paul (Rom 15:20) that we should have a missiological eschatology. I think this also fits in with the description of Satan being bound "so that he would not deceive the nations any longer" (Rev 20:3).

The big difference, besides the more pessimistic outlook of "this present evil age" (Gal 1:4) is that the millennium started with the resurrection of our Lord. It's not an event that will be ushered in some time in the future during great economic, cultural, and other Christian prosperity. The Postmillennialist camp also waver on it will actually be a 1,000 years or an indefinite amount of time.

The "Non-Millennium" Millennium

When I use that I am not stating that there will not be a millennium (like an a-theist would say there would be no God); my view is that there will be a millennium'but it plays out in the history of the New Covenant finding culmination in the 2nd advent, judgement, and New Heavens/New Earth. We live in the first resurrection described in Rev 20:4; and this first resurrection is important, because "the second death has no power" (Rev 20:4) which is our earthly death which is reminiscent of how Jesus describes regeneration by saying that "he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). This also solves, for me, the issue of death and the intermediate state. Amillennialism says that after death we enter directly into conscious fellowship with the Lord until the resurrection of our bodies which Paul says we should look forward to in 1 Cor 15.

I think before this advent will be a mass-conversion of ethnic Jews described by Paul in Rom 11. It's hard to figure out, because it's only mentioned once but it seems exegetically responsible. It certainly could not be a "spiritual Israel" (although that is described elsewhere: Phil 3:3; Rom 2:28-29, 9:6; Gal 6:16). The remnant saved through outside composing "all Israel" is plausible, but I feel it less likely because it is contrasted with the "fullness of the Gentiles" (Rom 11:25). This view doesn't necessitate a Dispensational eschatology, because I certainly don't think that Paul has in mind earthly, temporal blessings in a millennium for ethnic Israel but he has in mind soteriological blessings in that "the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree" (Rom 11:24). As for what this will look like I have no idea, but it seems to be the conclusion that exegesis demands.

I also feel it necessary to summarize a view on the "rapture." Anthony Hoekema helps us in this regard:

The "rapture" of all believers now takes place. Believers who have just been raised from the dead, together with living believers who have just been transformed, are now caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). That there will be such a "rapture" the Bible clearly teaches. But I have put the word rapture between quotation marks in order to distinguish the amillennial conception of the rapture from the dispensationalist view. Dispensationalists teach that after the rapture the entire church will be taken up to heaven for a period of seven years while those still on earth are undergoing the great tribulation.

Amillennialists see no scriptural evidence for such a seven-year period or for a transference of the church from earth to heaven during that period. Risen and glorified bodies of believers do not belong in heaven but on the earth. The word translated "to meet" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (apantesis) is a technical term used in the days of the New Testament to describe a public welcome given by a city to a visiting dignitary. People would ordinarily leave the city to meet the distinguished visitor and then go back with him into the city. On the basis of the analogy conveyed by this word, all Paul is saying here is that raised and transformed believers are caught up in the clouds to meet the descending Lord, implying that after this meeting they will go back with him to the earth.

More Information

This was more a "scratch pad" of ideas instead of detailed presentation of Amillennialism. Besides the Riddlebarger book, I am putting some free online resources in which to explore Amillennialism and have it compared to other eschatological systems. Regardless of our eschatology all Christians should be "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Tit 2:13-14).

• Amillennial Article from Four Views on the Millennium (Anthony Hoekema)
• A Present or Future Millennium? (Kim Riddlebarger)
• Kingdom of God/Inaugurated Eschatology (Anthony Hoekema)
• All Israel Will Be Saved (John Piper)
• Eschatological Positions Compared
• Visual Charts of Eschatological Views