{Download PDF} Visions of a Future the Study of Christian Eschatology
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Millennialism, Rapture and “Left Behind” Literature. Analysing a Major Cultural Phenomenon in Recent Times
start page: 163 Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2019, Vol 5, No 1, 163–190 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2019.v5n1.a09 Online ISSN 2413-9467 | Print ISSN 2413-9459 2019 © Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust Millennialism, rapture and “Left Behind” literature. Analysing a major cultural phenomenon in recent times De Villers, Pieter GR University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa [email protected] Abstract This article represents a research overview of the nature, historical roots, social contexts and growth of millennialism as a remarkable religious and cultural phenomenon in modern times. It firstly investigates the notions of eschatology, millennialism and rapture that characterize millennialism. It then analyses how and why millennialism that seems to have been a marginal phenomenon, became prominent in the United States through the evangelistic activities of Darby, initially an unknown pastor of a minuscule faith community from England and later a household name in the global religious discourse. It analyses how millennialism grew to play a key role in the religious, social and political discourse of the twentieth century. It finally analyses how Darby’s ideas are illuminated when they are placed within the context of modern England in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century. In a conclusion some key challenges of the place and role of millennialism as a movement that reasserts itself continuously, are spelled out in the light of this history. Keywords Eschatology; millennialism; chiliasm; rapture; dispensationalism; J.N. Darby; Joseph Mede; Johann Heinrich Alsted; “Left Behind” literature. 1. Eschatology and millennialism Christianity is essentially an eschatological movement that proclaims the fulfilment of the divine promises in Hebrew Scriptures in the earthly ministry of Christ, but it also harbours the expectation of an ultimate fulfilment of Christ’s second coming with the new world of God that will replace the existing evil dispensation. -
Islamic Eschatology “The Realms of Posthumous Becoming” All
Islamic Eschatology “The Realms of Posthumous Becoming” All material below is directly taken from the Realm of Posthumous Becoming God himself takes the soul at death After 1st night in grave questioned about it’s God, it’s prophet, and its scripture Correct Answers – taken to presence of God* Time passes quickly & Pleasurably Incorrect Answers – can not go to higher realms** Slowly & painfully Either way – foretastes of its situation after resurrection* Last Day is near – terrible events occur end of heaven and earth as we know them. Angel Israfil blows trumpet and all are suspended for 40 years. After 40-year period, trumpet blown again, all are gathered in vast plain under the burning sun (humans, animals, and demons alike). All stand naked and sweat to serious heights; time for believers would be like a day and for others could seem like centuries. Day of resurrection – Scales weigh good against evil God descends to carry out the final interrogation Judgement not on the “what” one did but on the “why” of the deeds Bridge over hell – for good bridge is short and broad for evil, bridge can be hairline narrow and long good make it across / evil fall to hell Intercession to God- by prophets for communities safe bridge crossers can intercede “Most Merciful of the merciful” (God) removes a handful of “had never done any good whatsoever” who are burnt to cinders, casts them into paradise who start anew in beauty Hell is a purgatory- for most who go there Hell is graphic – Tar clothing, organ & skin melting, hot iron piercing, beast and demon pulling and tearing bodies, and worse. -
THEONOMY and ESCHATOLOGY | Some Reflections on Postmillennialism
THEONOMY AND ESCHATOLOGY | Some Reflections On Postmillennialism By Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.1 Essential to the emergence of theonomy/(Christian) reconstructionism has been a revival of postmillennialism.2 Among current postmils, to be sure, there are some who are not recon- structionists, but all reconstructionists—whatever their differences—consider themselves post- mils. Or so it would have seemed until just recently with the unanticipated and apparently grow- ing impact of reconstructionist viewpoints in circles whose eschatology is characteristically premil. Still, for reconstructionism’s leading advocates, postmillennialism is plainly integral— whether logically or psychologically—to their position as a whole. Nonreconstructionist postmils would naturally deny any such connection. This chapter provides some partial, personally-tinged, yet, I hope, not entirely unhelpful reflections on the resurgent postmillennialism of the past 20-25 years. My reservations lie in at least four areas. DEFINING POSTMILLENNIALISM A large element of ambiguity cuts across much of today’s postmillennialism. Before trying to specify that ambiguity it will be helpful, historically, to give some attention to the fact that in the past, too, postmillennialism has not been the clearly defined, unambiguous position that some of its contemporary proponents make it out to be. It is fairly common to point out the inadequacy of our conventional designations pre, post, and a. But, no less commonly, in ensuing discussion that recognition recedes. As a result, efforts, for one, to distinguish between the postmil and amil positions get confused—usually, as it turns out, more than a merely terminological confusion. Who coined the term amillennial and when did it first begin to be used? Perhaps I’ve missed it somewhere, but the usual sources don’t seem to know or at least don’t say. -
Realized Eschatology the Resurrection of the Dead
www.thetfordcountry.com Richard Thetford Realized Eschatology The Resurrection of the Dead Introduction 1. Before we begin tonight’s lesson of “The Resurrection of the Dead,” I want to review briefly what Realized Eschatology or the 70 AD doctrine involves. A. It begins by taking the approach that ALL prophecy has been fulfilled, including those pertaining to the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment, and the end of the world. B. Furthermore, this doctrine revises the prophecies about Christ establishing his kingdom to say that the kingdom of Old Testament prophecy was fully established at the Lord’s second coming, when the dead were raised, when the world ended, and when the judgment occurred — ALL of which occurred in 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem. 2. Last night our lesson pertained to the second coming of Christ. The Realized Eschatologist believes that the second coming of Jesus happened in 70 AD and is not going to happen in the future. A. This position is believed because they make the second coming of Jesus figurative instead of literal. 3. Tonight I am going to be noting what the Realized Eschatologist believes and what the Bible teaches concerning the resurrection of the dead. Realized Eschatology (The Resurrection of the Dead) 1 www.thetfordcountry.com Richard Thetford Realized Eschatology View of the Resurrection 1. The 70 AD theorists believe and teach that the resurrection, about which the New Testament has much to say, has already occurred. A. It occurred in 70 AD when the Roman army destroyed the ancient city of Jerusalem. -
A Too-Future Eschatology? the Limits of the Phenomenology of Liturgy in Jean-Yves Lacoste
Open Theology 2019; 5: 386–402 Phenomenology of Religious Experience III: Visuality, Imagination, and the Lifeworld Jan Černý* A Too-Future Eschatology? The Limits of the Phenomenology of Liturgy in Jean-Yves Lacoste https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2019-0028 Received May 04, 2019; accepted September 06, 2019 Abstract: The article first outlines Jean-Yves Lacoste’s phenomenological description of “liturgy”, i.e. the encounter between God and the human being. It argues that Lacoste’s rejection of the religious apriori on the side of the human being and emphasis on God’s transcendence and otherness leads to decontextualization of the experience of Christian faith, as his strongly future eschatology does not allow for the real transformation of both the individual and social lives of believers. In the second step, the article gives two counterexamples to Lacoste’s attitude that represent an attempt to recontextualize the experience of Christian faith within concrete historical and cultural coordinates. The examples come from the work of American theologian William Cavanaugh and Czech philosopher Robert Kalivoda, whose focus lies in the hermeneutics of a sacramental experience and the question of the history-making of Christian faith. Cavanaugh recontextualizes the understanding of the sacramental experience in terms of globalization. Kalivoda interprets the transformation of Christian eschatological ideas into a program of real social changes with special attention devoted to the Hussite revolution of the 15th century and the Hussite conception of the Lord’s Supper. The article concludes that Kalivoda’s emphasis on present eschatology stands in opposition to Lacoste’s emphasis on future eschatology, whereas Cavanaugh holds a middle position with balanced emphasis on both poles of Christian eschatology. -
The Rapture in Twenty Centuries of Biblical Interpretation
TMSJ 13/2 (Fall 2002) 149-171 THE RAPTURE IN TWENTY CENTURIES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION James F. Stitzinger Associate Professor of Historical Theology The coming of God’s Messiah deserves closer attention than it has often received. The future coming of the Messiah, called the “rapture,” is imminent, literal and visible, for all church saints, before the hour of testing, premillennial, and, based on a literal hermeneutic, distinguishes between Israel and the church. The early church fathers’ views advocated a sort of imminent intra- or post- tribulationism in connection with their premillennial teaching. With a few exceptions, the Medieval church writers said little about a future millennium and a future rapture. Reformation leaders had little to say about prophetic portions of Scripture, but did comment on the imminency of Christ’s return. The modern period of church history saw a return to the early church’s premillennial teaching and a pretribulational rapture in the writings of Gill and Edwards, and more particularly in the works of J. N. Darby. After Darby, pretribulationism spread rapidly in both Great Britain and the United States. A resurgence of posttribulationism came after 1952, accompanied by strong opposition to pretribulationism, but a renewed support of pretribulationism has arisen in the recent past. Five premillennial views of the rapture include two major views—pretribulationism and posttribulation-ism—and three minor views—partial, midtribulational, and pre-wrath rapturism. * * * * * Introduction The central theme of the Bible is the coming of God’s Messiah. Genesis 3:15 reveals the first promise of Christ’s coming when it records, “He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”1 Revelation 22:20 unveils the last promise when it records “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly,’ Amen. -
ESCHATOLOGY Text: Introduction: I
REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY Text: Introduction: I. It is my task to introduce and explain the doctrine of Realized Eschatology [RE] II. To do that, I want to answer five questions: A. What? What does the terminology mean? What does the doctrine teach? B. Who? Who has taught this doctrine? C. How? How do Realized Eschatologists [RE’s] arrive at their conclusions? D. Why? Why have they accepted this doctrine? E. Where? Where does this doctrine lead? III. It is not my primary purpose to refute RE, but to explain it. Other speakers will examine and refute the major elements of this doctrine A. Note: This outline contains rebuttal material that I will not present Body: I. WHAT? AN EXPLANATION OF REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY A. What does the terminology mean? 1. “Realize”: “1a: to bring into concrete existence : ACCOMPLISH <finally realized her goal>….” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition) 2. “Eschatology”: “1: a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of mankind 2: a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of mankind specifically: any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition) 3. Other terms: a. Covenant Eschatology b. Fulfilled Eschatology c. Consistent Eschatology d. Transmillennialism e. Covenant Theology f. (Hyper) Preterism 1) There are at least three forms of Preterism a) Mild: The “tribulation” was fulfilled in the first 300 years of Christianity 1] In God’s judgment on Jerusalem (AD 70) 2] In God’s judgment on Rome (AD 313) b) Moderate: The tribulation and the bulk of Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70 Kevin Kay - Realized Eschatology 1 c) Extreme (Consistent): All Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70 2) This means we can’t lump all Preterists together in the same bunch, and we must be very careful that we do not misrepresent different shades of Preterism g. -
The Rapture of the Church: a Doctrine of the Early Church Or a Recent Development of the Dispensational Movement?
Oral Roberts University Digital Showcase College of Theology and Ministry Faculty Research and Scholarship College of Theology & Ministry 5-2006 The Rapture of the Church: A Doctrine of the Early Church or a Recent Development of the Dispensational Movement? David K. Hebert Oral Roberts University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalshowcase.oru.edu/cotm_pub Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Hebert, David, K. "The Rapture of the Church: A Doctrine of the Early Church or a Recent Development of the Dispensational Movement?" M.A. thesis, Oral Roberts University, 2006. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Theology & Ministry at Digital Showcase. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Theology and Ministry Faculty Research and Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Digital Showcase. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH: A DOCTRINE OF THE EARLY CHURCH OR A RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISPENSATIONAL MOVEMENT? By DAVID K. HEBERT May 2006 A Thesis Submitted to the Theological Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN THEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MISSIONS ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY DISCLAIMER The beliefs and conclusions presented in this thesis are not necessarily those of the administration of Oral Roberts University, the Graduate School of Theology and Missions, or the faculty. THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH: A DOCTRINE OF THE EARLY CHURCH OR A RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISPENSATIONAL MOVEMENT? By DAVID K. HEBERT APPROVED BY DATE _____________________________________________________ Larry Hart, Ph.D. -
The Future of the Future
THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE PETER J. LEITHART hat will the world look like in fifty years? If present Wtrends continue . • The United States will still be the world’s military and economic superpower, though Japan, India, Brazil, and maybe China will have closed the economic gap. • We will have (or have had) the first African or Asian Pope. Perhaps the second will too. • Because of declining populations, European nations and the United States will open borders and offer incentives to attract immigrant labor. The wealthy will buy robots to perform household chores. • Public universities will be almost unknown. University faculty and students will be 80% female. • Russia will break up into smaller units. The war on terror will be a distant memory. • Advances in communications technologies will further de-centralize business and manufacturing. 3-D “printing” will permit companies to base plants nearly anywhere. • The U.S. Supreme Court will have made gay marriage the law of the land. • In most districts, public schools will be run by private corporations. 71 RENEWING MINDS • Tim Tebow will not be in the Hall of Fame. • We will be able to purchase cars customized to our preferences, but except for a few intransigent holdouts, we will all be driving hybrids. • California? What’s California? • American Evangelicalism will have been through twenty-three new fads, but there will be a solid and growing number of serious Evangelical churches. • More movies will be produced in North Carolina than in Hollywood. India will be the global center of the film industry. -
In Iranian-Indian Mythology
Antrocom Online Journal of Anthropology 2011, vol. 7. n. 1 Asghari & Annapurna – Time in Iranian-Indian Mythology History of Religions 153 - 165 Contrastive Study of “Time” in Iranian-Indian Mythology Bibiaghdas Asghari *, Annapurna M. ** Abstract The main aim in the study is to compare and contrast the textual contents and the formal structures that are involved in the myth of ‘time’ in Indian and Iranian mythologies. Three questions will be replay: What are the divisions of time? What is the function of time in the mythical system in both myths of Iran and India? And what is the formal structure in this myth in the both mythologies? Data collection for this article has been done with a documentary approach. The Primary sources involved the Avesta and the RigVeda and secondary sources (include: 31 books, related article) were reviewed, after data gathered from those, the data analysis has been done in this study. Comparison of two myths is done with following mythical three indices: 1. Structure (trinity) 2.Binary Oppositions 3.Archetypal patterns time. In the Iranian myth, like the Hindu myth time is divided into three and then again four part horizontally. In Hindu myths, time is cyclical. Lord Brahma in Hindu mythology is referred to as the creator. The Zoroastrian concept of time is linear not cyclical. In the creation myth Unlimited/limited and Numeric /Divine time are cosmic oppositions; Golden Age / Iron Age indicate sociological opposition. Keywords: Time myth, Indo-Iranian mythology, Vedic mythology, Avesta mythology, Structural mythology. Introduction A creation myth, by definition, contains statements about time and space. -
Ezekiel's Two Sticks and Eschatological Violence in the Pentecostal Tradition
EZEKIEL’S TWO STICKS AND ESCHATOLOGICAL VIOLENCE IN THE PENTECOSTAL TRADITION: AN INTERTEXTUAL LITERARY ANALYSIS BY ALICIA R. JACKSON A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGION COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LAW UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM JANUARY 16, 2018 i University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Copyright © Alicia R. Jackson 2018 All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores the topic of eschatological violence in the Pentecostal tradition through an intertextual literary analysis of Ezekiel 36:16—39:29 and Revelation 19:11—21 and 20:7—10 by investigating primarily how the intentional literary placement of the ‘Two Sticks’ oracle (Ezek 37:15—28) between the ‘Dry Bones’ vision (Ezek 37:1—14) and the ‘Gog of Magog’ war (Ezek 38:1—39:29) informs the reader’s theological understanding of the message of Ezekiel 36:16—39:29 as a whole. Secondarily, this thesis considers how the allusion to Ezek 38—39 in Rev 19:11—21 and 20:7—10 enhances the reader’s theological understanding of Ezek 36:16—39:29, yielding an intertextual reading that challenges the way these texts have long been understood in popular Pentecostal contexts. -
The Unscriptural Theologies of Amillennialism and Postmillennialism
Scholars Crossing Article Archives Pre-Trib Research Center May 2009 The Unscriptural Theologies of Amillennialism and Postmillennialism Thomas D. Ice Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch Recommended Citation Ice, Thomas D., "The Unscriptural Theologies of Amillennialism and Postmillennialism" (2009). Article Archives. 54. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch/54 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Pre-Trib Research Center at Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in Article Archives by an authorized administrator of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE UNSCRIPTURAL THEOLOGIES OF AMILLENNIALISM AND POSTMILLENNIALISM by Thomas Ice The twentieth century has been a time dominated by the outworking of one’s eschatology. In addition to the various eddies and movements within Christianity, just think of the impact that Communism and Islam had on the last hundred years. Both are corrupted forms of a Christian, postmillennial determinism. One’s view of the future has tremendous impact upon what one believes an individual should do in the present. Historically, only the Bible looks ahead to the future as a time when life will be better than in the past. All pagan religions look to the past and think, “If only we could return to the good old days, then that would be wonderful.” “If we could just return the days of the Pharaohs of Egypt.” “If we could bring back the wonderful days of Nebuchadnezzar.” “If we could just get back to the 50s.” Only the Bible says the best is yet to come.