Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times - Conscious Evolution TV

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obin-bobin The End Times According to Christians 101mentioned in Revelation 20:1–6. Advocates of postmillennialismlook for the return of Jesus after the earthly “kingdom of God.”Proponents of premillennialism expect Christ’s second comingto occur prior to the millennium, and therefore anticipate thatthe Lord will be physically present on the earth to exercisedominion during what will be his thousand-year reign. In contrastto millenarians of either persuasion, amillennialists do notanticipate that an earthly golden age will occur at some particularpoint in human history, but believe that the thousand-yearreign mentioned in Revelation 20 carries symbolic significance.Contemporary adherents of the second perspective are furtherdivided into two groups. Historic premillennialists anticipate atime of tribulation directed against the church that will climaxin Christ’s coming to rescue the community of his disciples fromthe forces of evil. The millennium, in turn, will occasion God’sblessing of Christ’s faithful followers. Dispensational premillennialists,in contrast, believe that the future tribulation and themillennium are part of God’s program for the nation of Israel.Insofar as the tribulation will be God’s opportunity to preparethe Jewish people to accept the messiah, dispensationalists theorize,the church will be raptured out of the world immediatelybefore the tribulation begins. As readers of the Left Behind novelscan easily guess, this latter perspective is set forth in the series.The following paragraphs present a synopsis of the main featuresof these four major answers to the question, “When willthis happen?” together with the biblical and theological argumentsoffered by proponents of each. In so doing, the chapterindicates that the perspective presented in the Left Behind seriesis not the only alternative to the wholesale dismissal of theexpectation of the return of Christ, which has become the“default position” in so many churches today.The Dawning of the Kingdom: PostmillennialismAlthough postmillennialism may be the least familiar—and leastunderstood—eschatological proposal today, it was the preeminentperspective in the United States from the colonial period torobin-bobin
102robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation, and the End Timesthe early twentieth century. In fact, so dominant was postmillennialismwithin nineteenth-century American Christianity that in1859, the American Theological Review could speak of it as the“commonly received doctrine” among American Protestants. 1Lyrical expression was given to the postmillennial ethos in manyof the hymns of the day. Christians set forth to conquer theirspiritual foes singing “Lead On, O King Eternal,” whichcouched the conflict and its resolution in postmillennial terms:“For not with swords loud clashing, Nor roll of stirring drums;With deeds of love and mercy, The heav’nly kingdom comes.” 2The postmillennial vision spawned a great worldwide missionaryeffort that was encapsulated by the writer of the hymn “OZion Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling.” Christian evangelistscrisscrossed the globe confident that “the darkness shall turn todawning, And the dawning to noonday bright, And Christ’sgreat kingdom shall come to earth, The kingdom of love andlight.” 3The Central Features of PostmillennialismIn the eyes of many, postmillennialism is linked with the socialgospel movement, and its central focus often is deemed to be thequest for social transformation. Many of the activities ofchurches in the United States from food bank drives to work inprisons can be traced to this movement and its attempt toimprove society in anticipation of the coming of Christ. Yet atthe heart of postmillennialism is not just social transformationbut the spread of the gospel and the conversion of a great numberof persons, leading to an era of peace and righteousness onthe earth prior to Christ’s return. Postmillennialists anticipatethat the kingdom of God will gradually expand until it encompassesthe whole earth.Postmillennialists, therefore, view the millennium as a longera of universal peace and righteousness that arises as the resultof the preaching of the gospel, the saving work of the HolySpirit in the hearts of individuals, and the Christianization ofthe world. They anticipate a golden age of spiritual prosperityfor the entire world that will occur at the end of our own era.robin-bobin
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198robin-bobinDiscussion Questions2
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202robin-bobinGlossarythe end times
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208robin-bobinAnnotated Bibliograph
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Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times - Conscious Evolution TV

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