Heritage Lectures, Tyndale Seminary

Heritage Lectures, Tyndale Seminary Dr. Mike Stallard, Dean of Baptist Bible Seminary September 30 & October 1, 2011

The History of the Doctrine of Eschatology

The Apostolic Fathers (100 to 150 A.D.)

The early church fathers (here called Apostolic Fathers) who wrote and ministered in the first half of the second century can be characterized as primarily chiliasts or millennarians. Philip Schaff in his classical history of the Church makes this comment:

The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age [prior to 325 A.D.] is the prominent chiliasm, or millennarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on the earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers. (History of the Christian Church, II, 614).

It is true that there is no developed system of eschatology in the Apostolic Fathers and in all areas of theology they often appear vague and sketchy. However, many of the elements which make up the mosaic of later modern dispensationalism can be seen in isolation in texts from the Apostolic Fathers.

Some specific examples

 All writers of this period talk about the physical resurrection of believers and do not mention the resurrection of unbelievers.

 The resurrection of believers is usually placed as the Second Advent:

o I Clement 24—at the Second Advent o Barnabas 5—before the Kingdom (at the Second Advent) o Didache 16—after the Tribulation but before (at?) the Second Advent

 The Second Advent is viewed with immediacy and is considered to consist of the visible appearing of Christ.

 The Second Advent is associated with the establishment of the Kingdom.

1  The time of the establishment of the Kingdom:

o I Clement 50—at the resurrection of believers o II Clement 1—at the Second Advent o II Clement 9—at the resurrection o Barnabas 21— immediately preceding the resurrection

 The purpose of the Kingdom:

o II Clement 6—rest for believers o II Clement 17— rule of the world by Christ o Barnabas 6— a time for Christians to rule the earth in holiness o Didache 9— a time prepared for the Church

 Some of the Apostolic Fathers speak of the "last days" as beginning with the Incarnation (Barnabas 2, Ignatius' Eph. 11, etc.).

2 The Apologists (150 to 250 A.D.)

 Justin

o Justin was eschatologically oriented in his writings. o In Justin both the saved and lost would be physically raised from the dead at the Second Advent. o Justin stresses both the imminency of the Second Advent and the immediacy of the Kingdom. The Kingdom follows a general resurrection. o Justin teaches that the reign of Christ during the Kingdom is from Jerusalem and for a thousand years.

 Irenaeus

o Irenaeus was the first to clearly teach that human history was divided into seven periods of 1000 years each. He believed that he was in the sixth period. o The sequence which he established was the following:

1. At the end of the sixth period would be a time of great Satanic deception and troubling (akin to our views of the Great Tribulation). 2. After this Satanic deception would come the Second Advent of Christ. 3. The first resurrection occurs. 4. The seventh period of earth history begins and lasts for 1000 years. 5. The earth is destroyed at the end of the 7th period. 6. Eternity begins with a new heaven and new earth.

 The School of Alexandria

The school of Alexandria (Clement, Origen, et al) led the charge to replace the chiliastic approach to eschatology with a non-millennial view. The basis for this view was a shift away from literal hermeneutics when prophetic passages, especially those with respect to the future of Israel, were in view. Note the rather lengthy and representative quotation from Origen's Principles, II. XI.2:

Certain persons, then, refusing the labour of thinking, and adopting a superficial view of the letter of the law, and yielding rather in some measure to the indulgence of their own desires and lusts, being disciples of the letter alone, are of opinion that the fulfillment of the promises of the future are to be looked for in bodily pleasure and luxury; and therefore they especially desire to have again, after the resurrection, such bodily structures as may never be without the power of eating, drinking, and performing all the functions of flesh and blood, not following the opinion of the Apostle Paul

3 regarding the resurrection of a spiritual body. And consequently they say, that after the resurrection there will be marriages, and the begetting of children, imagining to themselves that the earthly city of Jerusalem is to be rebuilt, its foundations laid in precious stones, and its walls constructed of jasper, and its battlements of crystal; that it is to have a wall composed of many precious stones, as jasper, and sapphire, and chalcedony, and emerald, and sardonyx, and onyx, and chrysolite, and chrysoprase, and jacinth, and amethyst. Moreover, they think that the natives of other countries are to be given them as the ministers of their pleasures, whom they are to employ either as tillers of the field or builders of walls, and by whom their ruined and fallen city is again to be raised up; and they think that they are to receive the wealth of the nations to live on, and that they will have control over their riches; that even the camels of Midian and Kedar will come, and bring to them gold, and incense, and precious stones. And these views they think to establish on the authority of the prophets by those promises which are written regarding Jerusalem; and by those passages also where it is said, that they who serve the Lord shall eat and drink, but that sinners shall hunger and thirst; that the righteous shall be joyful, but that sorrow shall possess the wicked. And from the New Testament also they quote the saying of the Saviour, in which He makes a promise to His disciples concerning the joy of wine, saying, 'Henceforth I shall not drink of this cup, until I drink it with you new in My Father's kingdom.' They add, moreover, that declaration, in which the Saviour calls those blessed who now hunger and thirst, promising them that they shall be satisfied; and many other scriptural illustrations are adduced by the, the meaning of which they do not perceive is to be taken figuratively. Then, again, agreeably to the form of things in this life, and according to the gradations of the dignities or ranks in this world, or the greatness of their powers, they think they are to be kings and princes, like those earthly monarchs who now exist; chiefly, as it appears, on account of that expression in the Gospel: 'Have thou power over five cities.' And to speak shortly, according to the manner of things in this life in all similar matters, do they desire the fulfillment of all things looked for in the promises, viz., that what now is should exist again. Such are the views of those who, while believing in Christ, understand the divine Scriptures in a sort of Jewish sense, drawing from them nothing worthy of the divine promises.

Some of the insights from studying Origen and the school at Alexandria appear to be the following:

1. They are influenced by the Gnostic tendencies which had crept into the Church. 2. They were influenced by Greek (primarily Platonic/Neo-Platonic) philosophy. 3. They were somewhat anti-Semitic in the way they dealt with the kingdom issues. 4 5 The Theologians (250 [Cyprian] to 430 [Augustine] A.D.)

During the period of the theologians, Augustine's anti-chiliasm nailed down for the West what the Alexandrian School had done in the East. So the Church as a whole tends to adopt an amillennial stance on the issue of the kingdom leading into the Middle Ages.

When Rome was sacked by the Goths under Alaric in 410 A.D., Augustine responded by writing The City of God. This work is perhaps the most significant work written from the New Testament until the Reformation. In this work, Augustine explains that the sacking of Rome was not judgment from the gods because of the rise of Christianity in the empire. Rather there is at work in the world two kingdoms (two cities), the city of God and the city of Satan. Earthly kingdoms were not to be confused with the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God on earth was the Church. Augustine's scheme actually gives no future kingdom to look for so that he is often called the "Father of Amillennial Theology" although even postmillennialists will claim him as one of their own. Some specifics of Augustine's outline with some additional notes:

 He brought scholarly acceptance to amillennialism.  The Church = kingdom of God on earth  The head of the Church is the Vicar of Christ (bishop of Rome).  He taught the recapitulation view of interpretation for the Book of Revelation.

o This is the view that the book of Revelation can be divided into seven literary parts, each of which begins over again with the First Advent and continues on into the Eschaton. In this scheme, Rev. 20 begins a new literary section which begins again with the First Advent. In that way, the 1000 years of Rev. 20 can be made to begin with the First Advent and constitutes the presence age. That is, the church equals the kingdom (the 1000 years). This is probably still the majority view among amillennialists on handling the tricky passage of Rev. 20.  As a result, Satan is considered bound now (at least with respect to some areas; see Rev. 20).  Also as a result, the 1000 years in Rev. 20 commence with the First Advent of Christ. Augustine appeared to take the 1000 years literally although there appears to be some ambivalence in some passages of Augustine’s writings.  Augustine taught a period at the end of the 1000 years would be unleashed upon the world by Satan (3 and 1/2 years long?).

One of the implications of Augustine's approach overall is that there is only one unified people of God with no distinction made between OT Israel and NT Church.

6 The Middle Ages (430 to 1517)

During the Medieval Period, Augustine's views held sway in the Western wing of Christendom. However, there is growing evidence of a continuing chiliastic approach in the East. In fact, recent discoveries in 1994 show a very early representation of a two-phase Second Coming much like that developed by Darby in the early 19th century. So in this section I will summarize this particular discovery from the early Middle Ages and review Thomas Aquinas to show the more traditional approach at this lengthy period of time.

 Pseudo-Ephraem – This is a Syriac writing dating somewhere from the late 4th century (A.D.) to the early 8th century. The dating is based upon internal evidence of wars between Rome and the Persians which lasted for centuries. Which war is uncertain—hence, the wide range on the date. The author is thought to be someone writing as though he were the Syriac Church Father Ephraem who was a contemporary of Augustine (late 4th century). This particular writing is a sermon from the early Middle Ages which does two things: (1) it teaches a clear two-phase Second Coming (although the length of the tribulation is not clear – either 3 ½ or 7 years); (2) it shows an interest in the details of prophecy in exactly the same way that modern dispensationalists do, in fact, using the same passages and many of the same issues. This shows a robust premillennialism (and even pretribulationalism) many centuries before Darby (early 1800s). The copy we have of this work is in Latin but it has been translated into English and can be found on the Internet. It is well worth the read and will take you only a short time to do so.

 Thomas Aquinas – This famous scholar from the late Middle Ages (12th century— Scholastic Period) helped to codify the sacramental system for the developing Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps his most significant writing is his voluminous Summa Theologica. Our interest here is Aquinas’ standard amillennial interpretation which is the majority view within Christendom during the Middle Ages. It is at its heart a replacement theology which has no future for Israel and views the church of today as the kingdom of Revelation 20. Of particular interest is Aquinas’ focus on the two main interests of amillennialists of that time: (1) the beatific vision of God (the holy gaze upon God for those who are accepted by Him when they die), and (2) the physical resurrection of Christ at the Second Advent. The interests of amillennialism in a strict eschatological sense are largely limited to these two main issues, although some modern amillennialists (e.g., Poythress, Hoekema) have taken the “new earth” passages more seriously.

7 The Reformation (1517 to 1648)

Due to the continuing influence of Augustine and the emerging voice of John Calvin, amillennialism continues to be the predominant eschatological view during the Reformation. However, the Reformation emphasis on inductive Bible study, especially formulated in Calvin, opened the door for future meditations upon prophetic passages in a more literal approach. Ironically, the hermeneutics which the Reformers developed and used to respond to Rome led to the rise of eschatological views against their own.

 Martin Luther

o Luther held to a view of history similar to Irenaeus in the 2nd century. He believed world history encompassed seven periods of 1000 years each. In general (and sometimes vague?) terms, the six periods before the millennium correspond to the ages of Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Christ, and the Pope. The fifth millennium began 7 years after the death of Christ (41 A.D.). The sixth millennium began in 1076 (some sources say 1090) when Pope Hildebrand rose to power. o The present period constituted for Luther the Great Tribulation. o Luther viewed the Antichrist as the Pope (1521) or the Turks (1538) [see his comments on Daniel's prophecies]. o Luther identified the four kingdoms of Daniel's prophecies as Assyria or Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek, and Roman (not much different from our understanding). o He generally interpreted the 70 weeks of Daniel in the same way as we do seeing the 69th week ending with the death of Christ. The 70th week is, however, apparently fulfilled in the "last days" between the two advents of Christ. o Luther interpreted the willful king of Dan. 11 as the papacy. o He interpreted Dan. 12:4 as being fulfilled in the work of Christians of his day. o In the Book of Revelation, Luther identifies Babylon as the Roman Catholic Church.  John Calvin o In general, Calvin leads the Reformed tradition in a strengthened amillennialism. o Calvin emphasizes a general judgment. o In the Institutes, Calvin reacts rather strongly against millennialism or chiliasm and (somewhat like Origen I think) seems to misunderstand it. He comments that chiliasm has to be wrong because everyone knows that the kingdom is not limited to 1000 years (i.e,, it is forever). This is a distortion of premillennial teaching in my judgment. Perhaps there were some folks he was reacting to that had a faulty premillennial presentation (I’m trying to be nice to Calvin J). His view that the church existed before Pentecost is quite clear and any future for national Israel is absent (i.e., true replacement theology).

8  Westminster Confession of Faith

o The WCF (1646-47) codified Reformed thinking about eschatology by stating an amillennial position. There is a general judgment and general resurrection at the Second Advent. No earthly kingdom ensues. What is envisioned is a heavenly existence with God. The kingdom begins with the First Advent and is associated with the Church on earth. The student is encouraged to check out the WCF on the Internet if he has not books containing it. I would also recommend G. I. Williamson’s Commentary on the Westminster Confession of the Faith (originally published by P&R). It will take only a few moments to digest the WCF statements on eschatology since its amillennialism represents the position with the least interest in end times of all the positions.

9 Later Developments

The two major developments in eschatology after the Reformation are the rise of postmillennialism and modern premillennialism. I have not found much reference to postmillennialism in the early church. Both of these developments show more concern for exegetical details about prophetic passages than does amillennialism.

The Rise and Development of Postmillennialism

 Daniel Whitby (1638-1726)

o Background -- Daniel Whitby, who became a Unitarian (although there his writings on this are posthumously published), was a young lad during the time of the English Civil War (1642-51). The temporary representative form of government under the Protestant Oliver Cromwell was viewed by many as the dawning of a new "millennium." Both chiliastic and postmillennial notions abounded. Optimism flourished along with religious discussions about possible future utopian times. Whitby developed a detailed postmillennial scheme (Treatise on the Millennium, 1703) which has led to his historical designation as the "father of postmillennialism."

o Specific Points of Eschatology . The Church is not the kingdom. . The Church would build the kingdom. . Rev. 20:1-6 is a new age.

 American Postmillennialism

o Jonathan Edwards (1708-1758)

What many do not know is that Jonathan Edwards with his Reformed Theology (mixed with some elements of Revivalism) was an avid student of eschatology. He was an historicist, meaning he viewed his present circumstances as fulfilling in some way the conditions spelled out by biblical prophecy. In some early writing, he mapped the details of the book of Revelation and other prophetic passages to the time period from 606 A.D. to 1866 A.D. This is 1260 years and is borrowed from the 1260 days in Revelation He believed that the millennium would be ushered in by the church in the year 2000 and not in his own day. This means that he did not expect Christ to return during his lifetime.

10 o Charles Hodge (1880s) and the Princetonian Fathers The nineteenth century was a time of great optimism as the Industrial Revolution and its progress thrust society forward, especially that of the English speaking world with the British Empire spreading throughout the world. In the middle of the century, Charles Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) seemed to give biological support to a theory of human optimism. The United States only seemed to get sidetracked slightly by the Civil War in this respect. The expanded missionary enterprise gave confidence to the Church during this time for its version of human optimism. This entrenchment of postmillennialism can be seen in the theology coming out of the Princetonian Fathers (Hodge, Warfield, et al). One must be careful here since Warfield and other postmillennial writers can easily be accused of amillennialism. Lorraine Boettner definitely viewed the Princeton theologians as propogating the postmillennial position. I view Warfield as amillennial but the earlier Hodge camp as postmillennial (Warfield was a student under Hodge before he taught at Princeton). o Augustus Strong (early 1900s) Strong, a Baptist preacher, taught that a postmillennial aspect of the millennium was a precursor to the Second Coming of Christ: "Through the preaching of the gospel in all the world, the kingdom of Christ is steadily to enlarge its boundaries, until Jews and Gentiles alike become possessed of its blessings, and a millennial period is introduced in which Christianity generally prevails throughout the earth" (Systematic Theology [1907), p. 1008). o The Decline of Postmillennialism While postmillennialism gained ascendancy there were developing ideas that pointed in other directions. Among these were the following:

1. The French Revolution (1789) 2. German liberalism and its own brand of postmillennialism in the 19th century which made conservative postmillennialism suspect. 3. A rise in interest in Jewish affairs in the 19th century 4. Current events in the 20th century

Under # 4 was World Wars I & II and the Holocaust. It became difficult to affirm the kind of optimism centered in man necessary to maintain a postmillennial viewpoint. o Lorraine Boettner (contemporary) One of the lone voices supporting classical postmillennialism after World War II was Boettner who wrote a book entitled The Millennium (1957). In a classical description of his view contained in a chapter entitled "The World is

11 Growing Better," Boettner wrote: "The redemption of the world is a long, slow process, extending through the centuries, yet surely approaching an appointed goal. We live in the day of advancing victory, although there are many apparent set-backs. As seen from the human viewpoint it often looks as though the forces of evil are about to gain the upper hand. Periods of spiritual advance and prosperity alternate with periods of spiritual decline and depression. But as one age succeeds another there is progress. Looking back across the nearly two thousand years that have passed since the coming of Christ we can see that there has indeed been marvelous progress. This process ultimately shall be completed, and before Christ comes again we shall see a Christianized world. This does not mean that all sin ever will be eradicated. There always will be some tares among the wheat until the time of harvest -- and the harvest, the Lord tells us, is the end of the world. Even the righteous fall, sometimes grievously, into temptation and sin. But it does mean that Christian principles of life and conduct are to become the accepted standards in public and private life" (p. 38). o The Rise of Modern Dominion Theology or Christian Reconstructionism Begininng in the 1960s but really gaining some steam in the Reagan years (a period of optimistic Christian involvement in politics and culture), there was resurgence of postmillennialism in the form of Christian Reconstructionism. It has been referred to as Dominion Theology because of the intense interest in the Cultural Mandate in Gen. 1:26-28 and its dominion doctrine for man. It is referred to as Christian Reconstructionism because of the movement's desire to reconstruct society along Christian principles. It is referred to as Theonomy because of its interest in applying the exhaustive details of the Old Testament to our present culture.

. Proponents Rousas J. Rushdoony Gary North Greg Bahnsen David Chilton Joe Kickasola Gary DeMar James Jordan Ray Sutton

. Summary of Beliefs The Sovereignty of God Postmillennialism (I often say that dominion theology is postmillennialism on steroids) Theonomy Presuppositional apologetics "Covenant" as the key concept for life

12 . Reasons for the rise of Dominion Theology The modern resurgence of postmillennial concepts can be traced to some political currents (the Reagan years) which caused optimism, the fact that we had gone 40 years (now 50+ years) since a world war, and a reaction to the moral decline of our day. Many dominionists believe the church should not accept decline (wait for Jesus to come) but should offensively take over lost territory in culture and conquer territory never owned.

The Rise and Development of Modern Premillennialism

 Edward Irving (1792-1834) and the Albany Conferences (1826-28)

Edward Irving was the founder of a new congregation and denominational group called the "Catholic Apostolic Church." The definitive study on Irving's movement is Columbia Graham Flegg, 'Gathered Under Apostles': A Study of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. Irving led a separatist London congregation which practiced tongue-speaking, prophetic revelations, and the appointment of apostles in the congregation. This particular group was premillennial in its eschatology but also seemed to be historicist in its view of the tribulation. . In fact, the group by means of visions and prophesying believed that they were living in the last three and a half years before Christ’s return and dated that period from January 14, 1832 to July 14, 1835. Ironically, Irving did not live to see the disappointing failure of Jesus to return at the time prophesied by the group. Of more significance, is an earlier series of conferences held at Albany (1826-1828) for which Irving was a major contributor to the discussions. Such conferences and discussions which were widespread at this time in history showed the cultural interest in eschatologies of various kinds. Remember, that in Europe this is only a decade after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The culture was wondering what lay ahead as their world was in the midst of being put back together. In the United States, there is the political experiment of complete religious liberty which is also unleashing discussions which are cross-pollinating with those in England and in Continental Europe. Irving in particular is noteworthy because of the claim by David MacPherson that the pre-trib rapture position originated with a deluded teenage girl named Margaret MacDonald who was a member of his congregation. In fact, MacPherson wants this to be true so that he can ridicule the pre-trib position.

 The Powerscourt Conferences (1830s) and the Rise of the Brethren Movement

In the early 1830s there were some conferences held for serious Bible study at the estate of Lady Powerscourt (1831 to 1833). John Nelson Darby was a participant. It was at these conferences where prophetic details were discussed. One question, in particular, was whether "one day" in prophetic passages should be interpreted as "one year" as the common approach of the day preferred to do. It was at this conference where Darby formally presented his view of a two-phase Second Coming with a pre-trib rapture.

 John Nelson Darby

Darby was originally an Anglican cleric who became disenchanted with the Anglican Church in the late 1820s. He came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to purify the Church (i.e., be a puritan) but that it would be necessary to separate from

14 it. The ecclesiological position that developed was somewhat of an anti-organized religion view which focused on the Universal Church and denied the present reality of any denominational church and all but denied the local church. Darby believed that the nature of this Universal Church as a spiritual entity completely separated from Israel led to an eschatological theme that was consistently premillennial and pretribulational. His influence was felt on the Continent of Europe, especially in Geneva, where separatist groups such as the one led partly by Emile Guers embraced his overall scheme by the late 1830s. Darby joined himself informally to a group of Bible students in Dublin by 1831. Out of this group emerged the Plymouth Brethen movement. In 1845 that movement became engulfed in debate ove rthe "secret rapture" doctrine. Darby's antagonist was B. W. Newton. A prolific author and world traveler, Darby visited the United States several times from 1859 to 1874. One place where he preached was St. Louis where he no doubt influence James Brookes, a pastor of a Presbyterian congregation. Brookes was to be the spiritual leader and organizer of the Niagara Bible Conference movement the last quarter of a century during the 1800s. A young Congregationalist pastor in St. Louis who was later influenced by Brookes was named C. I. Scofield. Thus, Darby's influence on American Christianity and the rise of developing dispensationalism was direct. However, the Americans accepted his eschatology without buying into his ecclesiology (other than the distinction between Israel and the Church). In America, the movement became a trans-denominational one in which each group maintained its denominational or creedal distinctives but tacking on the pretribulational, premillennial scheme (the latter to a greater degree). Darby had a hard time understanding this development since he viewed his eschatology as flowing out of his ecclesiology. Regardless of developments, Darby is considered the father of modern dispensationalism.

 Emile Guers

Emile Guers was a French pastor in Geneva, Switzerland (beginning at least in the 1820s), who became a direct disciple of John Nelson Darby in the 1830s. Like Darby, Guers was a prolific author and helped a developing dispensational premillennialism to talk about method and to respond to perceived heretical developments. Little known, Guers is partly responsible through his writing for the conversion to premillennialism of Arno C. Gaebelein, later associate editor of the Scofield Reference Bible. His example shows that there exists a methodological continuity in the history of modern dispensationalism from the time of Darby to the time of Charles Ryrie.

 The Millerites in America

A Baptist farmer/preacher named William Miller began as early as the 1820s to preach that Jesus was returning to earth to establish his kingdom in 1843 (definitely a premillennial view). He based that prophesy upon the historicist view of Daniel 8:14. Usual modern dispensational interpretation sees the 2300 days of that passage as referrring to the 6+ years when Antiochus Epiphanes had violated and

15 desecrated the Jewish Temple in the Macabbean period. The 2300 days is a prediction of when it will end and usher in the rededication of the Temple (from which historical event we get the holiday of Hannakuh). However, Miller following the common view that one day meant one year, he took this as 2300 actual years. He also took the restoration in the passage to be the Second Coming of Christ. The starting place for the 2300 days was found in Ezra to be 457 B. C. Then simple math brought the end of the 2300 years to be in 1843 A. D. He caused a great stir in New York and Pennsylvania as the time drew near. His followers gave us the stereotype of the people who went out on the top of the mountains in white robes to wait for Jesus' coming. Alas, Jesus did not come. Miller's explanation was that he was off one year. So a repeat failure of Christ to return at the appointed time in 1844 became known in the newspapers as the Great Disappointment. To his credit, Miller stated that he must not know what he was talking about and that he would have to spend much time studying to find the actual truth about the matter. Unfortunately, some of his followers, led by a young girl named Ellen G. White, were not willing to do that. They developed a theology of the Investigative Judgment which taught had returned but not to earth. He had entered the literal, heavenly tabernacle to begin a new ministry of judgment. This became coupled with seventh-day worship so that the new group came to be called the Seventh-Day Adventists.

 Later American Developments of Dispensationalism o The Niagara Bible Conference Movement In 1868 a private conference headed up by James Inglis was started in New York City. Inglis edited the premillennial periodical Waymarks in the Wilderness. After his death and the death of other leaders in the early 1870s, the annual meetings had to be reconstituted in 1875 under the leadership of James H. Brookes, a Presbyterian pastor from St. Louis, who had been influenced by John Nelson Darby. These annual conferences of national scope came to be called the Niagara Bible Conference after the usual location at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The meetings were held there from 1883 to 1897. The main thrust of the conferences were simple Bible readings and expositions on the Christian life and the basic truths of the Bible including a premillennial Second Coming of Christ. Specific denominational distinctives were avoided since this was a transdenominational conference from the evangelical world of churches. Initially, the issue of a pre-trib rapture was not a factor in the conferences. One year debate on it did break out so strongly that Brookes issued a pre-meeting reminder to conference goers the next year that there would be not division along those lines. Brookes, although apparently a pre-trib rapturist, was not willing to divide the conference over the timing of the rapture. He himself has written the short doctrinal statement for the conference which was broad enough to encompass both pre- and post-trib rapturists. However, after his death in 1897, there was not individual who was able to pull both sides together. The conference ended with severe dissension in 1901 over the timing of the rapture. On the pre-trib side were Arno C. Gaebelein and C. I. Scofield. The

16 post-trib side was led by Robert Cameron. Gaebelein tried to keep an annual conference of national scope going but the movement developed into regional and city-wide conferences after that. However, one contribution of this conference movement was to inculcate in thousands of believers the premillennial faith in opposition to the more dominate postmillennialism. When society's image of itself began to crumble around World War I, premillennialism was poised to become the major evangelical view of the coming of Christ. o Scofieldism (C. I. Scofield, Arno C. Gaebelein, Lewis Sperry Chafer) I am using Scofieldism here as a code word to cover the development of dispensationalism from the early 1900s until the publication of Lewis Sperry Chafer's Systematic Theology in 1947. Scofield had been influenced by Brookes in St. Louis but also had pastorates in Boston and Dallas, Texas. After the breakup of the Niagara Conference, Arno C. Gaebelein's efforts to establish a replacement conference centered around Sea Cliff on Long Island. While walking along the beach one evening, Gaebelein is reported to have suggested to Scofield the idea of a study Bible with notes teaching dispensational truths so the common man could understand. Scofield took a few years to work on the idea which came to fruition in 1909 with the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible. A second edition was released in 1917. Arno C. Gaebelein was an associate editor of that Bible. While the notes of the Bible and the other writings of Scofield are sparse, Gaebelein left us perhaps as much as 20,000 pages of notes, commentaries, and theological discussions. This period saw the codifying of dispensational truth to the point that the pre-trib rapture began to be associated strongly with the premillennial coming of Christ. The normal view was becoming pre-trib premill as opposed to post-trib premill. Millions of Americans and thousands of churches were influenced by the presence of this reference Bible. The final piece of the codification of dispensational truth during this period came from Lewis Sperry Chafer. Chafer had been the song-leader for C. I. Scofield when he preached meetings during the second decade of the twentieth century. However, he had a growing longing to be a minister of the Word. Eventually, he went to Dallas, Texas to find a central site to start a new seminary where the entire Bible would be taught with dispensational truth in mind. That school, originally called the Evangelical Theological College, came to be named Dallas Theological Seminary. It started in 1924 and became the "Mecca" for dispensationalism in the United States. It is the Systematic Theology volumes of Chafer which form the theological reflection for this era of dispensationalism. The debate over his teaching is so severe that Chafer was put on trial by his Presbyterian Synod for rejecting the Westminster Confession of Faith. o Essentialist Dispensationalism

17 Following Chafer's time (and overlapping to some degree) were the major dispensational figures John Walvoord (who succeeded Chafer as President of DTS), J. Dwight Pentecost (DTS), Charles Ryrie (DTS), and Alva McClain (Grace Seminary). During this time there is an effort to formulate more clearly the hermeneutical, exegetical, and theological basis of dispensationalism. The pinnacle of that effort is Ryrie's book Dispensationalism Today (1965) which, in my judgment, is the most important book written on dispensationalism in this century. All discussions about dispensationalism refer back to this book as a landmark case for the developing debates. Ryrie attempted to distinguish dispensationalism from Covenant Theology, its principal rival. In doing so, he taught that there were some essential principles (sine qua non) which made one a dispensationalist. They were three in number:

. Consistent literal interpretation of the Bible -- prophecy should be treated just like history in our approach to Scripture; . Distinction between Israel and the Church; . A doxological purpose to biblical history (as opposed to a soteriological purpose as emphasized in Covenant Theology)

These three tenets, Ryrie affirmed, would be held by all dispensationalists of all times thereby creating a basis or essence by which the view could be judged historically and theologically. There were some developments in this period in terms of the New Covenant. Most dispensationalists began to emphasize (contrary to Chafer) that there was only one New Covenant shared by Israel and the Church. However, one should not read too much into this development since there were those in dispensational circles who had rejected a two New Covenants idea prior to Chafer. o Progressive Dispensationalism Beginning in the middle 1980s a new kind of dispensationalism emerged through the teaching of Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock (DTS) along with Robert Saucy (Talbot). This view posited that Jesus is reigning on the throne of David today at the right hand of the Father and offers a different view of the present age than more traditional dispensationalists. More will be said later of this view when it is discussed under kingdom promises. This view certainly rejects Ryrie's notion that there is a set of essential principles which can mark off a dispensationalist from other evangelicals. The best that one can hope for is a consensus around a list of theological and hermeneutical concerns.