Eschatology

This is the fifth in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you will want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here). My goal in this eschatological adventure is two-fold. First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church. In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP. Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Isaiah 11:1-16

We must examine this OTKP at length, seeing that it is likely the single most popular OT bastion of premillennialism. Scofield asserts, “This chapter is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom, which will be set up when David’s Son returns in glory.” Walvoord agrees, saying, “Isaiah 11 paints the graphic picture of the reign of Christ on earth, a scene which cannot be confused with the present age, the intermediate state (i.e., heaven), or the eternal state, if interpreted in any normal literal sense.” Grudem advances the same argument, observing, “It does seem, therefore, that (here in Isaiah 11) the eternal state has not begun, yet the reversal of nature far exceeds anything that will happen in this present age. Does this not indicate a future millennial kingdom?” The answer to Grudem’s question is, “Yes, it might indicate a millennial kingdom, if Isaiah had said anything at all about one thousand years; if the NT had given us liberty to interpret this Kingdom prophecy in ‘any normal literal sense;’ and if we were not under strict NT orders to recognize that the true sphere of fulfillment of all OTKP is the New Covenant in Christ, the two-staged Kingdom it introduces, and the Church that it creates. Let us therefore once again take in hand the NCH, and let us see once again how illuminating and uplifting this approach can be for the NT people of God.

This is the fourth in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you will want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in this eschatological adventure is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Isaiah 4:2-6

Viewed in NT perspective, this short, picturesque OTKP speaks powerfully of the election, redemption, regeneration, sanctification, and glorification of the Church. Alas, premillennarians like C. I. Scofield bar the way to such panoramic vistas, asserting that these rich promises belong exclusively to a latter-day Jewish remnant that will enter the Millennium immediately after Christ’s second coming.

Now this conclusion would be reasonable enough, if we could approach the text literally. We have seen, however, that the NT disallows it. Moreover, as soon as we do approach it literally, telltale problems immediately arise.

This is the third in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you will want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in this eschatological adventure is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the dramatic closing scenes of the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is vital that Christians stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Since the prophetic texts I deal with are usually quite long, I have not reproduced them here. You will need to bring an open Bible to each blog. My hope and prayer is that you enjoy them all.

Psalm 72

This is another royal psalm, frequently cited as a bastion of premillennial truth.

John Walvoord writes, “Psalm 72 is an unusually complete picture of the millennial reign of Christ . . . The psalm as a whole pictures the peace and righteousness and universal rule of the King of whom it is predicted, ‘Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him.’”

Similarly, Wayne Grudem states, “(This psalm) speaks of an age far different from the present age, but short of the eternal state in which there is no more sin or suffering.” In other words, it speaks of the millennium.

However, a close look at the psalm itself seems to tell a different story.

This is the second in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you will want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in this eschatological adventure is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (but not yet consummated), and 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy end.

Since the prophetic texts I deal with are quite long, I have not reproduced them here. You will need to bring an open Bible to each blog. My hope and prayer is that you will enjoy them all.

Psalm 2

This is the first of several royal or Messianic psalms (Psalms 2, 18, 20, 45, 72, 89, 110). As a rule, they feature an immediate reference to an earthly king, subtly blended with eschatological references to the coming Messianic King. Such is the case here. Psalm 2 has an OT fulfillment, presumably in the person of King David. But as the NT makes clear, it also has a far richer fulfillment in Christ (Acts 4:25-27, 13:33, Heb. 1:5, 5:5, Rev. 12:5). Here, I will focus exclusively on the Messianic meaning.

Throughout much of 2011, I have been working on a new book called, The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys of Biblical Eschatology. As that fairly ambitious title might suggest, it has been a challenging project, and one that has kept me from the blogging I so much enjoy. But just recently, I got a bright idea: Since the sections of the chapter I am now working on are relatively short, why not post each one as a blog? And since that bright idea seemed bright indeed, I’m  starting today!

But first a little background. The part of the book from which these short articles are extracted deals with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). As you may know, this is a theological hot-spot, surrounded by much controversy. At the risk of oversimplification, let’s just say that within evangelical circles there are basically two approaches to OTKP.

On the one hand, premillennarians  interpret these prophecies more or less literally, teaching that they will be (literally) fulfilled in a future one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth (Rev. 20).

On the other hand, amillennarians interpret them more or less figuratively, teaching that here the Spirit uses OT language and imagery to speak “mystically” (i.e., in types and shadows) of a two-staged Kingdom of God, comprised first of the Church Era and last of the New Heavens and the New Earth.

On this view, Revelation 20 is not speaking of a future earthly reign of Christ, but of his present Heavenly Reign; a reign that began when he sat down at the Father’s right hand, and that will conclude at his Second Coming. The (unknown) duration of this reign is symbolized by the number of “divine completeness,” 1000 (10x10x10).

So, count me among the amillennarians.

And because I find that perspective so delightful, in the weeks ahead I will be offering short, amillennial interpretations of some of the most interesting, difficult, inspiring, and controversial OTKP’s. As a rule, these are great favorites of our premillennial brothers. My goal here is to help them—and all my family in Christ–to see that the amillennial approach gives a far more satisfying and edifying interpretation than the premillennial.

Three NT Principles For Correctly Interpreting OTKP

We must, however, begin at the beginning. We cannot simply plunge into the forest deeps of OTKP without the adequate preparation. No, before venturing in, we must be sure that we are thoroughly equipped with the proper method of interpretation. In particular, we must be sure that we are using principles laid down by Christ and the Apostles; NT principles of OT prophetic interpretation that will enable us to see the deepest layers of meaning intended by the Spirit of God.

 I want, then, in today’s blog, to set forth what I think are the three overarching New Testament (NT) principles necessary for a proper interpretation of OTKP. These constitute what I like to call the New Covenant Hermeneutic (NCH), the true NT method for interpreting OTKP. In examining these principles, I will mention a number of subordinate principles that properly fall under each heading, and also issue a few caveats that should further increase our appreciation for the subtle beauty of OTKP and the interpretive power of the NCH.

If you have your Bible in hand, we are ready to begin!