Hermeneutics in Eschatology P3 - Historical premillennialists

Disclaimer: 

Remember my intention is not to promote one view over another, these posts are intended to prepare you for the discussion and to help you form your own position. 

Definition:

Historical premillennialists place the return of Christ just before the millennium and just after a time of great apostasy and tribulation. 

After the millennium, Satan will be loosed and Gog and Magog will rise against the kingdom of God; this will be immediately followed by the final judgment. 

While similar in some respects to the dispensational variety (in that they hold to Christ's return being previous the establishment of a thousand-year earthly reign), historical premillennialism differs in significant ways (notably in their method of interpreting Scripture).

Features and Distinctions:

• The favored method of interpretation is historical-grammatical. Premillennialism places a heavier emphasis on rigidly literal interpretations of key passages than either amillennialism or postmillennialism does.
  
  
• Israel and the church: Historic premillennialism proposes that the Church is the spiritual fulfillment of Israel in a manner that is very similar to amillennialism and postmillennialism.
  
  
• Kingdom of God: present through the Spirit since Pentecost - to be experienced by sight during the millennium after Christ's return.
  
  
• The Rapture: The saints, living and dead, shall meet the Lord in the clouds immediately preceding the millennial reign.
  
  
• The Millennium: Christ will return to institute a thousand-year reign on earth. The Millennium will see the re-establishment of temple worship and sacrifice as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.
  
  
• The Role of Satan: Satan is currently at work in the world, influencing affairs and deceiving the nations. At the return of Christ, Satan will be bound for the duration of the millennial age.
  
  
• Key Passages: This position shares many of the same key passages as amillennialism and postmillennialism. The distinction between the systems has to do with interpretations. 
  
  
• Major proponents: Irenaeus, Wayne Grudem, Robert Gundry, Eldon Ladd, Walter Martin, John Warwick Montgomery, and Theodore Zahn. 

Synopsis:

The historical premillennialist's view interprets some prophecy in Scripture as having literal fulfillment while others demand a semi-symbolic fulfillment. As a case in point, the seal judgments (Revelation 6) are viewed as having fulfillment in the forces in history (rather than in future powers) by which God works out his redemptive and judicial purposes leading up to the end.

Rather than the belief of an imminent return of Christ, it is held that a number of historical events (e.g., the rise of the Beast and the False Prophet) must take place before Christ's Second Coming. This Second Coming will be accompanied by the resurrection and rapture of the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18); this will inaugurate the millennial reign of Christ. 

The Jewish nation, while being perfectly able to join the church in the belief of true faith in Christ, has no distinct redemptive plan as they would in the dispensational perspective. The duration of the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6) is unsure: literal or metaphorical.

Key Terms:

The historical-grammatical method is a modern Christian hermeneutical method that strives to discover the biblical author's original intended meaning in the text.

Bibliography:

• Ladd, George Eldon. A Commentary on the Revelation. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972. (ISBN:0802816843)
• Ladd, George Eldon. The Last Things: An Eschatology for Laymen. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,1982.
• Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959. (ISBN: 0802812805)
• Culver, Robert Duncan. Histories &Prophecies of Daniel. Winona Lake, Indiana: BHM Books, 1980. (ISBN: 0-88469-131-4)
• Campbell, Donald K. and Townsend, Jeffrey L. A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus. Chicago: The Moody Press, 1992.