Hermeneutics in Eschatology pt 1

 Greetings and salutations! 

I have determined to revive this old blog page with the purpose of outlining a series of eschatological arguments, laying them out in a way for folks to see and decide for themselves which they believe based on Scripture is the correct approach.

In this post, I want to lay out two basic rules and then outline the base process I am going to take in these posts. 

Rule 1) Be Polite, in that you demonstrate humility,  I don't care how committed you are to one view or another these are things that have been debated by theologians far smarter than you or I for centuries and I don't expect anyone to change their views based on a single blog post or sermon. 

Rule 2) Be Open, if you are not willing to listen and consider positions other than your own then you are not demonstrating the humility or the maturity you think you are. It is okay to hold different views especially when we are dealing with issues that have yet to unfold and NO ONE actually knows 100% for sure that they are right and everyone else is wrong. 

Okay, with these rules in mind let's talk process. 

I have no idea how many posts this will take to work all the way through, but I am committed to being thorough and will do my best to not favor one view over another as I outline each of them. If I miss something please feel free to send me an email. As of this post, my plan is to have a post a week until we reach the end of the conversation, each post giving a brief, but accurate account of the main tenets of the four main existing viewpoints as well as some of the reasons — both Scriptural and interpretive — behind each view. 

These four main eschatological systems that I plan to look at (in no particular order) are as follows:

1) Dispensational Premillennialism
2) Historic Premillennialism
3) Postmillennialism
4) Amillennialism

Please realize that though these views differ significantly on the topic at hand, the Christians who disagree on these matters agree with each other on probably ninety percent of the rest of the Christian life, this is why I posted my two basic rules first so that we can attempt a bit of civility in the discussion. I will also define any words that I use each week that are of importance at the bottom of the post so that hopefully I don't lose you. 

The Millennium in Question

The first question I want to look at is what is the millennium in question. Each of these four main views revolves around what your definition of the millennium is so having a base understanding of that is important. 

When Christians discuss their millennial views, they are speaking of their interpretation of the much-debated passage in Revelation 20:1-10 — NASB.

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

"Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

"When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever." (NASB)

Okay so let's break this down. When we look at the question of what is the millennium there are different understandings that will determine your position. 

Many Christians will look at this and want to proclaim that they are "pan-millennial" that it will all pan out in the end. This is dangerous and while I was in this camp for a long time, it is unhealthy. 

That said, there literally is a multitude of interpretations, and regardless of your final interpretation of the thousand years from Revelation 20, it all depends more upon certain factors related to your hermeneutic rather than the strict text of the ten highly debated verses. 

You see, there are several ways in which Christians choose to come to Scripture some right, most wrong, and depending on which of these methods is used, your understanding of eschatological issues — and a host of others as well — will change. 

And since you interpret Scripture primarily through the filter of your understanding of other passages in the Word, your millennial view does have an effect (whether great or small) on the way in which you live your life.

The most important thing you can do here is to ensure that you are working off the right hermeneutic working to view the scriptures exegetically versus eisegetically. 

Okay, I think this is where I will end this post and will pick up later this week/next week with Dispensational Pre-millennialism.

May God bless you and keep you! 

Pastor Jonathan

Definitions: 

Eschatology: the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.

Hermeneutic: concerning interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. Your Hermeneutic is the lens through which you interpret God's Word. 

Exegtically: related to exegesis which is the Science which consists in establishing, according to the standards of scientific criticism, the meaning of a text, in particular. of the Bible.  Exegesis is legitimate interpretation that "reads out of" the text what the original author or authors meant to convey.

Eisegetically: related to Eisegesis which is the process of interpreting the text in such a way as to introduce one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases. It is commonly referred to as reading into the text. It is often done to "prove" a pre-held point of concern, and to provide confirmation bias corresponding with the pre-held interpretation and any agendas supported by it. Eisegesis is best understood when contrasted with exegesis.