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8/6/2019 Condensed Theology, Lecture 50 (49b), Eschatology Part 6
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Condensed Theology
A Primer in Systematic Theology
8/6/2019 Condensed Theology, Lecture 50 (49b), Eschatology Part 6
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Eschatology
What does the Bible teach aboutlast things?
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Review
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Review Redemption history is understood to unfold in
two successive ages: this present age and theage to come. This present age, characterized by sin and
death and that which is temporal and transient
will come to an end. The Second Coming of Jesus to the earth will
mark the end of the age. When he comes he will resurrect the just and
unjust, judge the believing and unbelieving inrighteousness, and glorify the creation.
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Review In the time between his first and second
comings, the church will continue to prospereven while it and the creation face trouble. The trouble of the time between his first and
second comings will come to a climax
immediately before his return. When the climax will occur is impossible to
know. Whether we are in the midst of the climax is also
impossible to know; it is only when Jesus returnsthat we will know that the climax has occurred.
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Review Jesus Second Coming will usher in the age to come, an
age characterized by righteousness and life and thatwhich is permanent and everlasting.
The age to come has been inaugurated by the person,ministry, and work of Jesus Christ in his life, death,
burial, and ascension. We await the consummation of the age to come with the
return of Jesus Christ.
Through our relationship with Christ we experience the
blessings of our future life now in the present time andawait their consummation at the end of the age.
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The Tribulation Period
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The Tribulation Period
As you may have inferred from the
previous lecture on the signs of the times,
Our contention is that this present age is
marked by trouble and tribulation for thesaints which will intensify atan unspecifiedtime foran unspecified time before the
return of Christ.
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The Tribulation Period
The term Tribulation Period, however,
does not refer to such an unspecified time;
Rather, the term is a quasi-technical term
from Dispensationalism that describes aseven ordinary chronological year periodof intense tribulation for the inhabitants of
the earth left behind after the Rapture(the secret return of Jesus).
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The Tribulation Period
This belief arises from a variety of
theological commitments that I will nottake time to address here.
Instead, check out the lecture series,Systems of Theology, available atwww.solidfoodmedia.com.
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The Tribulation Period
The key proof text used to substantiate the
Dispensational belief that there will be aseven ordinary chronological year periodof unprecedented tribulation on the earthis Dan 9:24-27:
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The Tribulation Period Dan 9:24-27: Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people
and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin,
to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness,to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. Soyou are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree torestore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will beseven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plazaand moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks
the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of theprince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And itsend will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war;desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant withthe many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a
stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominationswill come one who makes desolate, even until a completedestruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one whomakes desolate.
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The Tribulation Period Two things should be said about this
passage of Scripture: It is very difficult to interpret; thus, there are a
variety of approaches to it that are not easily
dismissed. From the Dispensationalist perspective, the
their interpretation of this text is crucial to theireschatology. I mention this because it seemsinadvisable to give so much theologicalweight to such a difficult passage.
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The Tribulation Period The Dispensational interpretation of this passage
includes the following features: The seventy weeks refers to seventy periods of seven ordinary
chronological years.
The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalemwith plaza andmoat (v 25) refers to the decree of Artaxerxes regarding
Nehemiahs rebuilding the temple in 445-444 BC. The death of Christ is predicted to take place after 69 X 7 (483
years) in v 26a: Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah willbe cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who isto come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The seventieth week, described in vv 26b-27, takes place atsome point after the Messiah is cut off.
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The Tribulation Period The Dispensational interpretation of this passage
includes the following features: Between weeks 69 and 70 is the church age. We live between
weeks 69 & 70, and await the beginning of the seventieth week. The seventieth week (the last seven-year period) begins when
the church age ends at the Rapture (the secret return of Jesusfor his saints).
The seventieth week is the time of great tribulation referred toby Jesus in Matt 24:21: For then there will be a great tribulation,such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world untilnow, nor ever will.
Since the church will be evacuated from the earth vis--vis the
Rapture, the Tribulation is for those who are left behind. During the Tribulation Period, individuals may be saved through
faith in Christ.
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational interpretation of Dan
9:24-27: The Seventy weeks are metaphorical for sabbatical weeks.
Nowhere in Daniel do we read that the weeks of Dan 9:24-27 areordinary chronological years.
When the word week is used without the qualifying word year it
typically designates weeks of days. If the writer had to indicateyears, he normally would have chosen the word year as in Dan9:2.
At the heart of the temporal language is a sabbatical and a jubileepattern. As an OT symbolical pattern, it is not confined to weeks oryears. There is a Sabbath day and even a Sabbath month (Lev23:23-43). In principle, the word week might be used to designatea period of any length, as long as that period were related to theSabbatical pattern.
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational interpretation of
Dan 9:24-27: The Seventy weeks are metaphorical for sabbaticalweeks. 1 Enoch (several centuries after Daniel) also apocalyptic in
nature employs this Sabbatical pattern, dividing the whole
history of the world into ten weeks, with the weeksconsisting of varying lengths when measured in terms ofordinary years.
The time periods are broken up into definite lengths, 7, 62,and 1 in order to emphasize this Sabbatical pattern. The first
period is a single jubilee (7x7=49). The whole cyclerepresents 10 jubilees, signifying the time leading to the finalrestoration. The end of the 69th week is just short of this finalrestoration, which suggests an inaugurated eschatology(already and not yet).
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational interpretation of Dan
9:24-27. The suggestion that the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
came from Artaxerxes appeals to facts that the audience ofDaniel would not have known (this is inconsistent withgrammatico-historical interpretation). This is used by
dispensationalists because the 444 BC date of Artaxerxesdecree is almost exactly 69X7 (483) years before the death ofChrist.
The decree to which Daniel refers is the decree by Cyrus king ofPersia from 538 BC; this, incidentally, is another argument for a
sabbatical understanding of the seventy years because 538 BCplus 483 years lands us in 55 BC, 50-60 years beforethe time ofChrist.
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational
interpretation of Dan 9:24-27. There is no indication in the teaching of Jesus
or the apostles that the church will not
undergo tribulation; to the contrary, whatmarks life in the church is tribulation andsuffering for the gospel.
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational
interpretation of Dan 9:24-27. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture,
including Daniel 9, that Jesus will return
secretly for his saints to whisk them awayprior to the intensification of the tribulation ofthe present age before his open return to the
earth; to the contrary, Jesus return is alwaysdescribed as open and obvious.
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The Tribulation Period Here is an example
from the NewTestament that theSecond Coming and
the Rapture arereferring to the sameevent.
Event Matthew 1 Thessalonians
Christ returns 24:30 4:16
From heaven 24:30 4:16
With angels 24:31 4:16
To the sound of thetrumpet of God
24:31 4:16
To gather believers to
himself
24:31, 40-
41
4:17
In clouds 24:30 4:17
At an unknown time 24:36 5:1-2
Like a thief 24:43 5:2, 4
With unbelievers unaware 24:37-39 5:3
Like labor pains 24:8 5:3
Believers not deceived 24:43 5:4-5
Believers to be watchful 24:37-39 5:6
Warning againstdrunkenness
24:49 5:7
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The Tribulation Period Objections to the Dispensational
interpretation of Dan 9:24-27. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture,
including Daniel 9, that people have a chance
to trust in Christ after his return; to thecontrary, everything the Bible teaches aboutthe Second Coming indicates that it is too late
for repentance.
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The Tribulation Period A summary of the teaching of Dan 9:24-27:
The decree of Cyrus (538 BC) represents thebeginning of the restoration of the people of God totheir land (rest) which culminates at the end of historyinaugurated by the work of Jesus Christ at his firstadvent. 69 weeks, being one shy of 70, indicates that
the work of Jesus Christ in his first advent anticipatesa future consummation (the tenth jubilee, the 70th
week). The consummation is preceded by variousdesolations of the people of God (Antiochus IVEpiphanes [176 BC], Titus [70 AD], and through other
antichrists and men of lawlessness until theAntichrist/the Man of Lawlessness is revealedimmediately prior to Jesus return in power and glory.
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The Millennium
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The MillenniumRead Revelation 20:1-11
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The Millennium Four Takes on the Millennium
1. Premillennialism, Dispensational: Christ returns before the
events of Revelation 20, which refer to the reign of Christ on thepresent earth for 1,000 ordinary chronological years.
2. Premillennialism, Historic: Christ returns before the events ofRevelation 20, which refer to the reign of Christ on the presentearth for 1,000 ordinary chronological years.
The difference between Historic Premillennialism andDispensational Premillennialism is that DispensationalPremillennialism teaches that the millennium is Jewish inorientation; that is, it envisions the reinstitution of temple worshipand its sacrifices and the reestablishment of the feasts of the OldTestament, including Passover, the Feast of Booths, et al.
Historic Premillennialism teaches that the millennium is Christian inits orientation; that is, it understands the promises of the OldTestament for the restoration of Israel to be fulfilled in Christ andthe church and therefore to make temple worship and liturgicalfeasts to be obsolete.
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The Millennium Four Takes on the Millennium
3. Postmillennialism: Christ returns after theevents of Revelation 20, which refer to agolden age of Christianity on the present
earth for a long period of time signified bythe figure of 1,000 years.
4. Amillennialism: Christ returns after the
events of Revelation 20, which are afigurative depiction of life in this present age.
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The Millennium:
Dispensational Premillennialism
The Dispensational Premillennial interpretation
of Rev 20:1-11 includes the following features: Revelation 20 follows chronologically on the events of
Revelation 19.
Jesus therefore returns with his saints following theseven-year tribulation to rule on this earth infulfillment of Gods promises to national Israel.
The thousand years refer to ordinary chronological
years. People can sin during the millennium.
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The Millennium:
Dispensational Premillennialism The Dispensational Premillennial interpretation of Rev
20:1-11 includes the following features: Satans binding (v 2) refers to the absolute curtailing of all his
deceptive and evil activity.
Satan will be released so God can make a permanent end of sinbefore establishing the new heaven and the new earth.
The first resurrection is a bodily resurrection from the dead,made up of believers from this present age (the church age) andbelievers who die during the seven-year tribulation.
Those who become Christians during the Millennium and allunbelievers await the second resurrection at the Great White
Throne Judgment; thus there are multiple resurrections.
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The Millennium
Objections to DispensationalPremillennialism
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The use of parallelism in Revelation
The battle of Rev 20:7-10 is a recapitulation of thefinal battle of 16:14, 16; 17:14; 19:11-21.
These descriptions of the final battle all use languagefrom Ezekiel 38-39.
The judgment of Satan in 20:10 parallels thejudgments of Babylon (Chapters 17-18) and of theBeast and the False Prophet (19:11-21).
Further parallels exist between 12:7-11 and 20:1-6.
Certain features in 20:11-15 correspond to earlierdescriptions of the Second Coming in 6:14; 11:18.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
Even accepting a chronological reading of
Revelation 19-20, the interpretation isflawed
All of Christs enemies are destroyed in 19:11-
21. If 20:1-6 describes events later than19:11-21, there would be no one left for Satanto deceive in 20:3.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
The non-absolute binding of Satan
The binding of Satan in v 2 is not absolute;Satan is not described as out of the way;rather, he is described as bound in the sense
that he is curtailed from deceiving the nations(v 3).
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections Other clearer passages of Scripture regarding
the Second Coming indicate that a Premillennialunderstanding of Revelation 20 is incorrect.
As we have seen, the rest of the NT teaches that when Jesusreturns he will judge the world; therefore if Jesus returns at
the end of Revelation 19 (chronologically prior to the eventsof Revelation 20), there can be no sin in the millennium.
As we have seen, the rest of the NT teaches that when Jesusreturns he will resurrect the living and the dead, the just and
the unjust; therefore if Jesus returns at the end of Revelation19 (chronologically prior to the events of Revelation 20),there can be no unresurrected saints in the millennium.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deaths The language of first resurrection in vv 5-6 in the
context of Revelation does not necessarily imply thatthere will be a chronologically second resurrection.
Rev 21:1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for thefirst heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is nolonger any sea.
Notice that first is used here in the sense of old; thus, the
language is used not to indicate chronology, but contrast.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deaths This is not to say that there is no second
resurrection; it is simply to say that second does notnecessarily imply second in chronological sequence.
Rev 20:5-6: The rest of the dead did not come to life until thethousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the firstresurrection; over these the second death has no power, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign withHim for a thousand years.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second
resurrections and the first and seconddeaths What is the second death? Eternal
damnation in the fire of hell.Rev 20:14-15: Then death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, thelake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into thelake of fire.
Therefore the second death is spiritualdeath.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections and the
first and second deaths Now if there is a second death, the implication is that there is a
first death.
Revelation 20:4: Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, andjudgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who hadbeen beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of
the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or hisimage, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on theirhand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousandyears.
Rev 21:4: and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be anymourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.
The first death is clearly physical death.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
The nature of the first and second
resurrections and the first and seconddeaths
So here is what we have:
The second death is spiritual death.
The first death is physical death.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deaths Rev 20:5-6: The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were completed. This is thefirst resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who
has a part in the first resurrection; over these thesecond death has no power, but they will be priests ofGod and of Christ and will reign with Him for athousand years.
Now if there is a first resurrection, the implication isthat there is a second resurrection.
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deaths Rev 20:5-6: The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were completed. This is thefirst resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one whohas a part in the first resurrection; over these the
second death has no power, but they will be priests ofGod and of Christ and will reign with Him for athousand years. Notice that the first resurrection is correlated with the
second death: Blessed and holy is the one who has a part
in the first resurrection; over these the second death has nopower. This implies another correlation; namely, the second
resurrection with the first death.
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The nature of the first and second resurrectionsand the first and second deaths
First resurrection First (physical) death
Second resurrection Second (spiritual) death
The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
Th Mill i Di i l
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
The nature of the first and second
resurrections and the first and seconddeaths
What does this tell us about the natures of the
resurrections?
It suggests the following:
Th Mill i Di i l
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The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deathsFirst (spiritual) resurrection First (physical) death
Second (physical) resurrection Second (spiritual) death
The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
Th Mill i Di ti l
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second
resurrections and the first and seconddeaths
It is also important to note another
relationship in this passage, one that is full ofirony:
Saints who physically die are translated into the
first spiritual resurrection,While the second (physical) resurrection translates
the wicked into the second spiritual death.
Th Mill i Di ti l
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The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deathsFirst physical death of saints First spiritual resurrection of saints
Second physical resurrection of wicked Second (spiritual) death of wicked
The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections
Th Mill i Di ti l
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections The nature of the first and second resurrections
and the first and second deaths This understanding of Revelation 20 suits that thought
of the passage since a first, eternal, spiritualresurrection is what prevents a person from suffering
a second, eternal, spiritual death.
And at the same time, we see that a bodilyresurrection is not sufficient to protect a person from
the second, eternal, spiritual death.
The Millennium: Dispensational
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections A thousand years is a metaphor
Rev 1:1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the thingswhich must soon take place; and He sent andcommunicated it by His angel to His bond-servantJohn.
Though I do not have time to develop it here; thegenre of Revelation (apocalyptic) uses numbersmetaphorically to convey various themes: (7churches, 144,000 [multiples of 1,000 and 12], 666,etc.).
In the case of 1,000 years, the idea is that ofcompleteness, or fullness, to show that the saints whohave suffered are ultimately victorious.
The Millennium: Dispensational
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The Millennium: Dispensational
Premillennialism: Objections A minimizing of Christs fulfillment of the Old Testament
hope:
Though not related directly to their interpretation of Revelation20, a key component of the Dispensational Premillennialunderstanding of the Millennium is that it represents thefulfillment of Gods promises to restore the nation of Israel to theland and that therefore they believe that there will be areinstitution of temple worship, the celebration of nationalreligious feasts, etc.
This idea minimizes the reality of Jesus fulfillment of thepromises of the Old Testament, especially as it is expressed inthe book of Hebrews.
In addition, it fails to account for the fact that the land promises
were meant in the Old Testament to point Gods people toward arestored cosmos (the city with foundations whose builder andmaker is God).