Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

dead, and of indulgences. As a protest against this ecclesiasticism, Chiliasm again made
its appearance in several sects This was in part a reaction of a pietistic nature against the
externalism and worldliness of the Church.
3. FROM THE REFORMATION UP TO THE PRESENT DAY. The thought of the Reformation
centered primarily about the idea of the application and appropriation of salvation, and
sought to develop eschatology mainly from this point of view. Many of the old
Reformed theologians treat it merely as an adjunct to soteriology, dealing with the
glorification of believers. Consequently, only a part of eschatology was studied and
brought to further development. The Reformation adopted what the early Church
taught respecting the return of Christ, the resurrection, the final judgment, and eternal
life, and brushed aside the crass form of Chiliasm which appeared in the Anabaptist
sects. In its opposition to Rome, it also reflected a good deal on the intermediate state
and rejected the various tenets developed by the Roman Catholic Church. It can hardly
be said that the Churches of the Reformation did much for the development of
eschatology. In Pietism Chiliasm again made its appearance. The Rationalism of the
eighteenth century retained of eschatology merely the bare idea of a colourless
immortality, of the mere survival of the soul after death. Under the influence of the
philosophy of evolution with its idea of an endless progress, it became, if not obsolete,
at least obsolescent. Liberal theology entirely ignored the eschatological teachings of
Jesus and placed all the emphasis on His ethical precepts. As a result it has no
eschatology worthy of the name. Other - worldliness made way for this - worldliness;
the blessed hope of eternal life was replaced by the social hope of a kingdom of God
exclusively of this world; and the former assurance respecting the resurrection of the
dead and future glory was supplanted by the vague trust that God may have even
better things in store for man than the blessings which he now enjoys. Says Gerald
Birney Smith: “In no realm are the changes of thinking more marked than in the portion
of theology which deals with the future life. Where theologians used to speak to us in
detail concerning ‘last things,’ they now set forth in somewhat general terms the
reasonable basis for optimistic confidence in the continuance of life beyond physical
death.” 2 At the present time, however, there are some signs of a change for the better. A
new wave of Premillennialism appeared, which is not limited to the sects, but has also
found entrance in some of the Churches of our day, and its advocates suggest a
Christian philosophy of history, based particularly on the study of Daniel and
Revelation, and help to fix the attention once more on the end of the ages. Weiss and
2 A Guide to the Study of the Christian Religion, p. 538.
734