Some Definitions, 4/18/2021

 

Eschatology: beliefs or teaching about last things. The word derives from eschatos, the Greek word for “last.” Biblical writings often distinguish between the present age or eon, the period of history in which life is being lived, and the future, coming age, or period of transformed existence that God will bring at the end of history.[1]


Preterism:  The belief that all prophecy in the Bible is really history.  The preterist interpretation of Scripture regards the Olivet discourse, the book of Revelation, etc. as a picture of first century conflicts.  The term comes from the Latin praeter, meaning "past."  Preterism is divided into two types: full preterism and partial preterism.

 

The Millennium: (Lat. mille “thousand” plus annus “year”). The “thousand years” of Christ’s eschatological reign (Rev. 20:2–7). Numerous interpretations have been offered.

According to Rev. 20, the thousand-year period is inaugurated by the following events: Satan is chained and imprisoned in “the bottomless pit” for a thousand years (vv. 1–3; cf. 9:2), “those to whom judgment was committed” are enthroned (20:4), and Christian martyrs are raised to life and begin a thousand-year reign with Christ (vv. 4–6). When this period has ended, Satan is released to bring together God’s enemies for battle; they are defeated, and his eternal punishment begins (vv. 7–10), after which the general resurrection of “the rest of the dead” occurs, followed by judgment (vv. 5a, 11–15). Then “a new heaven and a new earth” are experienced (21:1).

The idea of such an interim period of earthly peace and righteousness is found in some Jewish apocalypses (e.g., 2 Esdr. 7:28; 1 En. 91:14; 2 En. 32–33; cf. Barn. 15) as the reconciliation of earthly messianic hopes for the future with more transcendent hopes centered on “new heavens and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17). In some rabbinic discussions the issue was not whether such an interim would be, but how long it would last.

Rev. 20 portrays a two-stage victory over death and the forces of evil. Both stages involve a defeat of Satan, a resurrection, and possibly (depending on interpretation of the first sentence in v. 4) a judgment. The two stages are separated by a thousand-year period wherein those who did not worship “the beast” or bear its mark reign victorious with Christ. At the second stage the forces of evil are released only to be thrown into “the lake of fire” for eternal punishment (vv. 10, 14–15).

The different views concerning this thousand-year period arise from different answers to these questions: (1) What is the nature and location (earth or heaven) of the reign of the Christian martyrs? (2) In what sense is Satan bound? To what degree is he prevented from being active? (3) What relation does the millennium bear to the present and to the Parousia? (4) Is “one thousand” a literal measure of time, or a symbol like many of the other numbers in the book of Revelation? (5) What is the relation, parallel or subsequent, of the events portrayed in Rev. 20 to those portrayed in 19:11–21 and other parts of the book?[2]

 

Premillennialism: The belief that Christ’s second coming will occur before the millennium and that he will then reign for 1,000 years on the earth. It is often mistakenly equated with dispensationalism, which is premillennial in its eschatology; however premillennialism long predates dispensationalism. The distinction is frequently made by speaking of historic premillennialism, from which dispensationalism is a departure.[3]

 

Dispensationalism: A theological system that interprets the Bible and history according to specific ages or “dispensations” where different principles governed God’s relationship with people. The dispensationalist perspective has heavily influenced popular views of the end times and eschatology.[4]

The Seven Dispensations:

  •  Innocence - Adam to the Fall
  •  Conscience - From the Fall to the Flood
  •  Human Government - From the Flood to Babel
  •  Promise - From Abraham to Moses
  •  Law - From Moses to Christ
  •  Grace - From the cross to the rapture of the church
  •  Millennial Kingdom - A literal 1,000 year reign of Christ, ending with God's judgment on the final rebellion.

  

Postmillennialism: The belief that Christ’s second coming will be preceded by the Millennium, a golden age of gospel blessing upon the ministry of the church. At Christ’s coming there will be the general resurrection, the general judgment, followed by the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and the eternal state.[5]

 

Amillennialism: The belief that the Kingdom of God was inaugurated at Christ's resurrection at which point he gained victory over both Satan and the Curse. Christ is even now reigning at the right hand of the Father over His church. After this present age has ended, Christ will return and immediately usher the church into their eternal state after judging the wicked. The term "amillennialism" is actually a misnomer for it implies that Revelation 20:1-6 is ignored; in fact, the amillennialist's hermeneutic interprets it (and in fact, much of apocalyptic literature) non-literally.[6]

 

 

 

 



[1] Richard H. Hiers and Mark Allan Powell, “Eschatology,” ed. Mark Allan Powell, The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 254.

[2] Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 719–720.

[3] Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 336.

[4] Douglas Mangum, The Lexham Glossary of Theology (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

[5] Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 334.

[6] “Eschatology: Four Views On the Millennium,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed April 17, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/mill.cfm.

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