Treasury of Sermons -
Reformation
Doctrine of the End Times
Life B-P Church Reformation Lectures, 29th October 2004
Text: Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-10
1. Introduction
·
This doctrine of Scripture is designed to particularly excite us
and motivate us to live for the Lord and serve Him well.
·
It is known as the doctrine of eschatology, or literally, “the
Last days” or “the End times”.
·
It is based on a number of passages in the Bible that contain
prophecies about the future, e.g.
Daniel 2, 7, 11:36-12:13 Ezekiel 37- 48
Zechariah 12-14 Matthew 24
1 Corinthians 15:20-57 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:3
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Revelation 4-22
2. Views of the Events and Prophecies of the End Times
a. There are three main views of the events of the
End Times:
Premillennialism, Postmillennialism and Amillennialism.
i. Premillennialism: Christ returns before
the thousand years.
o
Several powerful empires and nations will rise and fall,
culminating with the rule of the whole world by the Antichrist.
o
The Gospel of Christ would have been preached in the whole world
by then, but there would also be a great falling away from the faith by
the church at large.
o
The Antichrist will make a peace treaty with the nation of Israel
at first but then he will suddenly break this treaty, oppress Israel,
and demand to be worshipped as a god.
o
God will send plagues of judgement to punish the whole world.
o
The False Prophet, together with the Antichrist will respond with
miracles of their own.
o
The greatest military offensive in history will be launched
against Israel, but Christ will return to save Israel.
o
The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast them into the
lake of fire.
o
Satan will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit.
o
During that time Jesus will rule on earth with all the raptured
and resurrected saints.
o
All Israel will be saved and will worship Christ in a glorious
temple.
o
At the end, Satan will be released to stir up one final rebellion
against God.
o
He will be defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone
to burn forever.
o
All the unsaved dead who shall be resurrected, judged and cast
into the same lake.
o
The old heaven and old earth will be destroyed with fervent heat.
o
A new heaven and new earth will appear together with the new
Jerusalem.
ii. Postmillennialism: Christ will return after
the thousand years.
o
The kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the
spreading of the Gospel.
o
The world will eventually be Christianized.
o
The return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of
unprecedented righteousness and peace.
iii. Amillennialism: There is no literal one
thousand years.
o
It is just a symbol for the present long period of time between
Christ’s first and second coming.
o
There is also no specific period called the Tribulation. Things
will just continue to get worse and may intensify briefly before the end
of the world.
o
Satan was bound at the cross, but he will be loosed for a brief
period before the end of the world. During that time, it will seem as
though the Gospel is not having an effect and evil will be rampant.
o
The physical land of Israel has no more significance to God than
any other country.
We, the church, are now the only “Israel” that God cares about.
o
The prophecies of Antichrist have been fully fulfilled in the
Papacy.
o
A remnant of the Jews will continue to be saved, but there will
never be a time when all the Jews will be saved.
o
Jesus returns unexpectedly, with no warning, and the world ends.
b. There are three main views of the prophecies of
the End Times:
Historicism, Preterism and Futurism.
i. Historicism: Held by some amillennialists, and
some premillenialists.
o
This was the view expounded by the Reformers.
o
Westminster Confession 25:6 – “There is no other head of the
Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any
sense, be head thereof; [but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and
son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ,
and all that is called God.]”
o
It is the view that Bible prophecy, especially the Book of
Revelation, describes the events of the last two-thousand years.
ii. Preterism: Some amillenialists today prefer to
take this view.
o
It is the view that some, most or even all of the events in Bible
prophecy took place in the past.
o
E.g. prophecies about the Antichrist and his persecution are
regarded as fulfilled in the Roman emperor and the persecution of
Christians who refused to worship the emperor.
o
It originated from the Jesuits after the Reformation.
o
The most extreme preterists (liberals) believe that all the
“prophecies” have been fulfilled by the time of writing.
iii. Futurism: The view held by most
premillennialists.
o
Most of the events of Bible prophecy take place in the distant
future with respect to the time of writing.
o
The seal judgments, trumpet judgments and bowl judgements will
only take place within a short time period before the millennium.
o
B-P Constitution: 4.2.7 – “We believe in the personal, visible
and premillennial return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to judge
this world and bring peace to the nations.”
3. Five Reasons Why We Are Premilllennialists
a. Premillennialism is based on a literal
interpretation of Scripture.
·
It takes the Scriptures in their literal and normal sense.
·
How does the interpreter decide whether a biblical passage is
literal or figurative? The decision must be based on the same criteria
as in any other literature: (1) Either the writer or speaker must
indicate in direct words that he is using a figure of speech; (2) Or the
context must make it clear that the words have to be taken figuratively.
In any other case, the literal meaning of the words must be accepted as
the intended sense.
(Biblical Interpretation: The Only Right Way by David Kuske,
1995, Northwestern Publishing House)
·
It avoids spiritualizing or allegorizing the text:
·
E.g. Rev. 20:1 - angel = Christ; coming down from heaven =
incarnation;
·
vv.2,3 - binding and casting of Satan = death on the cross;
·
v.4 - Those who reign with Christ for 1,000 years = the present
church age;
·
vv.5,6 - first resurrection = born again;
·
vv.7-9 - defeat of Satan’s final rebellion = Christ’s Second
Coming
·
The plain sense of Revelation 20:1-9: After Christ returns, Satan
will be bound for a thousand years while the resurrected saints reign
with Christ over the nations of the world, until he is loosed again to
be defeated and destroyed forever.
b. Premillennialism is the view that has stood the test
of time.
i. The Growth of Early Premillenarianism (1st-3rd
Centuries)
·
Papias of Hierapolis (70-163)
·
Justin Martyr (105-165)
·
Irenaeus (140-202)
·
Tertullian (160-220)
·
Hippolytus of Rome (170-235)
·
Commodianus (3rd Century Christian poet)
·
Lactantius (4th century Christian apologist)
·
Methodius of Olympus (died 311)
·
Apollinaris of Laodicea in Syria (310-390)
ii. Augustine and Amillenialism (4th –
18th Centuries)
·
Montanism had given premillenialism a bad reputation.
·
Some church fathers began to express unhappiness with
premillennialism:
o
Origen (185-255)
o
Dionysius of Alexandria (ca. 262)
o
Eusebius (260-339)
o
Victorinus of Petau, Austria (270-303)
·
When the church was finally given a favoured status under the
Roman emperor Constantine, premillennialism declined.
·
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) rejected premillenialist teaching
because he thought that it encouraged Christians to have a carnal hope.
·
His interpretation of Revelation 20 became the Amillennial
position.
·
It prevailed throughout the period of the Medieval Church and
even into the time of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
·
Premillennialism still continued to exist among certain groups of
believers who were against the Roman Catholic Church.
·
Unfortunately there were also some very extreme groups that gave
the premillennialists a bad reputation (e.g. Radical Anabaptists).
·
The Reformers therefore chose to remain in the Amillennial
position, although they firmly advocated the literal interpretation of
Scriptures.
·
Some Reformers however, believed that the Scriptures taught a
future general conversion of the Jews (e.g. Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr
and Theodore Beza).
·
Johann Heinrich Alsted (17th century) revived the Premillennial
view, and for a short while it claimed a small following among some
Puritans (e.g. Joseph Mede and Thomas Goodwin).
·
But radical Puritans such as the Fifth Monarchy Men gave
Premillennialism a bad reputation.
iii. The Rise of Postmillennialism (18th
and 19th centuries)
·
It was a later development in the Puritan movement, and
influenced by Daniel Whitby (1638-1726).
·
The optimism that gave rise to this view dissipated with the
violent political changes that shook the world.
·
By the end of WWII, it became the least popular view, and
Premillennialism had made a big comeback.
iv. The Return of Premillenialism (19th
-21st Centuries)
·
There was an increased interest in Bible prophecy and
eschatology, and books and conferences on the last days became common.
·
As liberal churches were postmillennial, Bible-believing
Christians moved to premillennialism in order not to be associated with
them.
·
In the middle of the 19th century certain groups linked with the
premillenial view became extreme (e.g. The Millerites).
·
The futurist variety of premillennialism was popularized by the
Dispensationalists.
·
It was further strengthened in 1948 when the nation of Israel was
reborn, fulfilling Bible prophecies.
Observations:
·
Premillennialism is the oldest of the three views.
·
Although at times it fell into disfavour because of some radical
or extreme group that espoused this view, the church always returned to
it.
c. Premillennialism gives us the right perspective of
our present role in promoting God’s Kingdom.
·
Postmillennialists and Amillennialists:
There is a tendency to promote God’s kingdom by social and political
action. E.g.
o
Augustine – “The City of God”
o
The Roman Catholic Church
o
Calvin’s Geneva
o
Christian Reconstructionists (Rousas J. Rushdoony)
·
Premillennialists:
o
It is up to Christ alone to effect these socio-political changes
during the millennium.
o
Our present role: to preach the gospel of eternal life, and to
build up the saints with the Word of God.
d. Premillennialism is confirmed by many verses of
Scripture.
·
1 Corinthians 15:23-24 – “But every man in his own
order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his
coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and power.”
There is clear evidence of a long time gap between Christ’s second
coming and the end of the world.
·
Acts 1:6-7 – “When they therefore were come together,
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again
the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know
the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”
Jesus’ answer implies that the disciples were right to expect a
future restoration of a political kingdom.
·
Romans 11:25 – “For I would not, brethren, that ye
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the
fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
The present state of blindness of Jews will end when God’s plans for the
Gentiles are fulfilled.
·
Romans 11:28,29 – “As concerning the gospel, they are
enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved
for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance.”
·
Other than salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s plans
for the Jews include promises of:
o
A glorious visible, political kingdom here on earth.
o
Ownership of a piece of prime land by divine right.
o
God’s blessing to those who help them and favour them.
o
God’s curses to those who harm them and seek to destroy them.
·
Their history has shown that God continues to be faithful to
those promises He had made to their forefathers, and to love His
‘firstborn son’ (Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:9).
·
They look forward to the Millennial Temple, the offering of
sacrifices and the reign of the Messiah (Zechariah 6:12-13; Ezekiel
40-46).
Zechariah 6:12-13 – “…Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold
the man whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place,
and He shall build the temple of the LORD: Even He shall build the
temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule
upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the
counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
·
These millennial sacrifices will only serve to remind people of
what Christ has already done on the Cross. They will be unique and
distinct in their features
(see Ezekiel 40:1–46:24; Isaiah 56:7; 66:20-23; Jeremiah 33:18;
Zechariah 14:16-21; Malachi 3:3-4).
e. Premillennialism is the only view that commends hope
to a world that is miserably failing and seized with fear.
·
The very best of human efforts will never bring forth the perfect
world that people dream of.
·
The Bible gives us the hope of a better world to come, where:
o
The paradise that was lost by the first Adam will be regained by
the second Adam.
o
Christ will establish His righteous rule over the whole world.
o
The whole world will be finally be subdued and filled according
to the divine mandate God gave to Adam:
Genesis 1:28 – “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
·
Why will it last only for a thousand years?
o
Because it is not meant to be permanent (1 Corinthians 15:24).
o
The millennium must give way to the permanent eternal state with
the new heaven and the new earth!
Our Response: Let the doctrine of the End Times
motivate you to live for the Lord and to serve Him well now, knowing
that His kingdom is coming soon! |
