Premillennialist Interpretation of Revelation (Part 1)
posted by Krista | 1/7/2003 12:44:46 AM | Permalink | 
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Early Figurative Interpretations
Origen completely rejected a literal interpretation of the prophecies of the End, arguing for a figurative interpretation. (De Principiis 2.11.2-5) Later, Augustine (354-430) also interpreted Rev 20:1-6 figuratively as a reference to the ministry of Jesus, and was understood as the Age of the Church which would be followed by the Second Coming of Christ, although at one point he did predict the end date to be 1000. The beasts of Revelation 13 were interpreted as this wicked world and hypocrisy, respectively. This gradually became accepted as the dominant view until the 12th century when the idea of an earthly reign resurfaced with Joachim of Fiore's prediction of 1266 and again became popular from time to time up until the present, including predictions such as Luther at 1558, William Miller and the Adventists at 1844, and Pastor Russell and the Jehovah's Witnesses at 1914.
PreMillennialism in the 19th Century
In the 19th century, a 'dispensational premillennialist' movement was born with the teachings John N. Darby, founder of the Brethren Movement. It was called 'premillennialist' because they believed the Second Coming would take place before the 1000 year reign. These teachings reconstructed time so that the past, present and future were linked into God's all encompassing Plan. Here, God promises that Christians will have a special form of salvation called the 'rapture,' derived from rapiemur ('we shall be caught up') in the Latin translations of 1 Thess 4:13-18 and 1 Cor 15:51-58. Charles C. Ryrie describes the doctrine as:
"At the close of this age, premillennialists believe that Christ will return for his Church, meeting her in the air (this is not the Second Coming of Christ), which event, called the rapture or translation, will usher in a seven-year period of tribulation on the earth. After this, the Lord will return to earth (this is the Second Coming of Christ) to establish his kingdom on the earth for a thousand years, during which time the promises to Israel will be fulfilled." (Ryrie 1953:12)
7 Dispensations
The 7 periods of time (dispensations) are:
- Innocence (Gen 1:28-3:13) - Adam & Eve's obedience in the Garden of Eden
- Conscience (Gen 3:22-7:23)- Because man received understanding of good and evil, God now required man to employ it. When they did not meet his expectations, he caused the Flood.
- Human Government (Gen 8:20-11:9) - God allowed man to govern himself. The Jews failure led to their captivity. The Gentiles failure led to the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy in Dan 2
- Promise (Gen 12:1-Exod. 19:8) - Blessing of Abraham and his progeny so long as they remained in the promise land. It ended in Egypt.
- Law (Exod. 19:8-Matt. 27:35) - Mosaic Law up to the Cross.
- Grace (Rom. 3:24-II Tim. 3:1) - Christ's resurrection to the rapture of the Church and the Great Tribulation
- Fullness of Times (Eph 1:10) - Second Coming through the 1000 year reign. During this time, all past epochs and promises are fulfilled.
The 7 Churches in Revelation
This tradition also views the 7 churches in Revelation as prophecizing the 7 stages in Church history. One interpretation describes these 7 churches as the Patient Church (1st Century), the Persecuted Church (100-316), the Polluted Church (316-500), the Paganized Church (500-1500), the Peculiar Church (1500-1750), the Pure Church (1750-1910) and the Passive Church (1910-?). The present church age is equated with the lukewarm church of Laodicea, as one Brethren writer described:
Whatever interpretation we may take of the book of Revelation, it is undeniable that the church of Laodicea presents a vivid picture of the age in which we now live. Luxury-living abounds on every hand while souls are dying for want of the Gospel of Christ... There is no sense of spiritual need, no longing for true revival... This is our condition on the eve of Christ's return.
The 20th Century
In premillennialist thought, the bible is interpreted as a whole, whereas most biblical scholars break up each piece into when it was written, who the author was, and generally try to put the text in the social and historical context. In Lindsey's case, he interprets Daniel and Revelation together, with the fourth beast of Daniel corresponding to Rome. In phase 2 of its power, it will appear as a 10 nation confederacy (the Common Market or a United States of Europe). The beast of Revelation 13 is identified with the Antichrist, whom Lindsey calls the 'Future Fuehrer.' He will be correlated with a Roman dictator who rules the 10 nation confederacy and will become known when he recovers from a fatal wound in a sudden and miraculous manner. Lindsey apparently first predicted that the Second Coming would occur in 1988, but has since revised his views.
Continue reading Historical Approaches to Apocalyptic Literature (Part 2).
Reference
- Article: Historical Approaches to Apocalyptic Literature (Part 2)
- Article: Historical Approaches to Revelation (Part 3)
- Boring, M.E. "The Theology of Revelation: The Lord Our God the Almighty Reigns." Interpretation 40.01, July 1986. pp.257-269.
- Collins, A. Y. "Reading the Book of Revelation in the Twentieth Century." Interpretation 40.01, July 1986. pp.229-242.
