A BRIEF REFLECTION ON CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY
By Dr Ezekiel
Kimosop
Dispensationalism
Premillennialism Theories
There are four
dispensationalism theories in Christian eschatology. Classic
Dispensationalism recognizes God’s dealing with the State of Israel as
distinct from His dealing with the church. They reject the view that it is
merely symbolic of the church and that the church has replaced Israel. They
insist that God’s promises to the nation of Israel will be separately fulfilled.
Some scholars say classic dispensationalism was later revised in the mid
twentieth century resulting in Revised Dispensationalism which recognizes
the connections between the church and God’s prophetic promises to Israel.[1]
The third category
under the dispensationalism theory is what some scholars refer to as Progressive
Dispensationalism. This category distinguishes Israel and the Church in
history and also as aspects of the Kingdom which Jesus preached and which He
will bring to consummation at His coming. The fourth and final category is the Historic
Premillennialism. This school does not believe the Bible conveys a sharp
distinction between Israel and the Church. All believers from all the ages are,
in their view, part of the one spiritual “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16).
Secondly, they do not believe the Scriptures teach that God will remove the
Church prior to the tribulation so that He can resume a unique saving work
among the Jews, an idea that presupposes erroneous overemphasis on
discontinuity between Israel and the Church.
All variations of
dispensationalism however recognize Israel as a reference to a specific ethnic
group
Which
eschatological theory is identified with Reformed Calvinistic tradition?
The Calvinistic
Reformed traditions generally subscribe to dispensationalism premillennialism
eschatology. They believe that Christ will return to take away the church at
the close of the church age and before the millennial reign mentioned in
Revelation 20. This position is also held by majority Baptists including
sections of the Southern Baptist Convention churches with minor variations.
How should we
interpret the prophetic events mentioned in Matthew 24?
There is divided
opinion among Bible scholars on the interpretation of Matthew 24. There are a
number of eschatological views that have been developed in response to this
passage. Here is a summary:
i)
Full
Preterists – This school of
thought holds that the prophetic events foretold in Daniel 9, Matthew 24 and the
Book of Revelation were fulfilled in AD 70 following the destruction of the
Jerusalem temple. Full preterists insist that all Bible prophecy, including the
coming of Christ, has already been fulfilled. Most mainstream Christian
traditions consider the Full Preterists view heretical because of their denial
of the
future return of Christ, the bodily resurrection of believers, and the final
judgment.
ii)
Partial
Preterists – This
eschatology group claims that some of the prophecies mentioned in Daniel 9, Matthew
24, and the Book of Revelation were fulfilled in AD 70 and that the rest of the
events will be fulfilled in future.
iii)
Premillennial
Dispensationalism
– This category argues that the coming of Christ and the rapture of the church
will take place before the 1000 years millennium reign of Christ. They consider most of the Bible prophecies as
futuristic. Most Evangelical and Reformed traditions subscribe to this theory.
iv)
Mid
Tribulation Dispensationalism - hold that the second coming of Christ and the rapture will take place
in the middle of the seven-year tribulation period. They argue that given the
historical and current persecutions suffered by the church, nothing in
Scripture guarantees the immunity of the church from persecution during the
reign of the Antichrist. The coming of Christ in the middle of the intense
persecution of the church will be a rescue of sorts.
v)
Post
Tribulation Dispensationalism – Post Trib groups claim that Christ will return and take away the
church after the close of the seven years tribulation period. They insist that
the church will undergo the full tribulation period of seven years before
Christ comes for her.
vi)
Amillennialism
– This school denies
the futuristic physical millennial reign of Christ, arguing that the millennial
reign commenced at Calvary and would close on Christ’s return and rapture of
the church. They insist that Christ’s return will only usher in the final
judgement contemplated in Revelation 20:11-15 since the rest of the prophecies
will have been fulfilled.
Does John
Hagee subscribe to Calvinistic Reformed eschatology?
Pastor John Hagee
of Cornerstone Church does not appear to subscribe to the doctrines of the
Reformed tradition. He is a Pentecostal teacher. Some of his beliefs may however
align with some aspects of Reformed doctrines but this is merely by
coincidence.
Is the
mission mandate of the church delaying the Parousia or the coming of Christ?
This could be
partly true if we consider the implications of Jesus’ statement in Matthew
24:14 where he says “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (NKJV). Jesus
was of course referring to the close of the church age. This statement may also
be understood as a general description of the end time events rather a
conditional phrase. It could also imply that by the time of Christ’s coming,
the gospel will have been substantially proclaimed across the world. It may not
imply that all people groups will have been literally accessed. However given
the explosion of the digital online platforms in our contemporary world, my
view is that it is highly unlikely that any part of the world would be left out
of the gospel outreach by the time of Jesus’ coming. Other texts and passages
of Scripture touching on the coming of Christ do not convey any specific
conditions other than the fulfilment of the prophetic events contemplated for
the church age including the global apostasy, the rise of the Antichrist and
his systems and the persecution of believers (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2
Thessalonians 2:1-12; 2 Peter 2; Jude 1:1-22; Revelation 17-20).
_____________________________
This reflection article
was written on 22 May 2025 in response to Q & A filed by a believer. The
writer is the founder and editor of the Christian teaching website blog
LISTENING AND DOING BIBLICAL FORUM that can be accessed on www.ezekielkimosop.blogspot.com . He is also a commentator at www.ebible.com.
[1] https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/sbc-life-articles/southern-baptists-and-the-millennium/ accessed 25 April
2025 at 1130 GMT.
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