I believe it was nearly a year ago that I asked Micah to pose a question for our pastor, Sam, the next time they met together as part of the pastoral internship Micah was doing. My question: Can you suggest any reading material that could shed light on the relationship between Israel and the Church? He graciously answered by sending me three chapters from his as then unpublished book, Kingdom Come.
A few months later, we purchased the hardback tome, with the compelling cover design which was created by fellow Bridgeway Church member, Jesse Owens. I began reading it towards the end of my pregnancy, often alongside Micah in our backyard lawn chairs as the early summer sun dipped slowly behind us, and other times while Micah painted our changing table under the carport. When Evie arrived, I had to drop my little project, much to my frustration. Finally, I was able to start over a few months ago, and just completed my reading (and partial re-reading) this week.
If you are going to take on the challenge of reading this book, given that you are not a Bible College graduate, pastor, or theologian, then I commend you for your ambition and would make a recommendation:
Give yourself a timeline and plan to attack it with some momentum! This is not "light reading" that you can just pick up and put down for five minutes at a time.
What are the essential distinctions between amillennialism and the more broadly accepted view called dispensational premillennialism?
A few distinctives of dispensational premillennialism:
History is divided into several periods or dispensations, "in which the unfolding purpose of God and his relationship with mankind are revealed". (pg 50.) There are two distinct peoples of God with separate divine programs: Israel and gentile believers. Israel never received the total fulfillment of the blessings contained in the Abrahamic covenant, therefore it is only natural to assume that complete and literal fulfillment is yet to come. Dispensationalists believe in a coming, literal, thousand year period in which the fulfillment of earthly promises to Israel will take place following the tribulation and second coming of Christ and preceding the final judgment and eternal state. The present church age is a parenthesis in God's primary redemptive purpose. While Israel receives earthly promises and destiny, the Church receives heavenly promises and destiny.
There are a LOT more details to dispensational premillennialism than that, but those are just a few of the biggest points. In Kingdom Come, Sam is offering a carefully thought out and well researched alternative to this perspective, while still giving respect to differing beliefs.
A few distinctives of amillennialism:
There began one chosen people, Israel, until God grafted in a branch made up of believing gentiles. The new people- believing Jews and gentiles are known as the Church. Amillennialism gives respect to specific genre and context within Revelation, Daniel, and other key texts which sheds a different light on the interpretation. There is no literal thousand year gap between the second advent of Christ and the eternal state. Daniel's prophesied 70th week began with the baptism of Jesus and will end with Christ's second coming. There will be no one and only Antichrist during a seven year Great Tribulation.
I have during my reading compiled a vast amount of quotations from the book that were particularly interesting and enlightening to me.
"As O'Brien points out, 'it is not simply that individual Gentiles and Jews have unhindered entry into the presence of God, wonderful as this is. In addition, both of them as one new humanity can come into his presence. "Jew and Gentile stand together as one people in God's presence with old distinctions no longer having significance."'" (pg 186; see book for full citations)
(Concerning 1 Corinthians 5:1-5:)
"The body, like an outer vesture or overcoat, is being put on over the earthly body with which the apostle is, as it were, presently clad. In this way the heavenly, glorified body not only covers but also absorbs and transforms the earthly one (see Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:53). If he (or we) remains alive until Christ returns he will be found by the Lord clothed with a body (the present, earthly one), and not in a disembodied state (v.3). To be without a body is to be "naked". Clearly, Paul envisaged a state of disembodiment between physical death and the general resurrection (cf. "unclothed" in v.4). (pg 350-351)
(Concerning The Final Judgment:)
"If there be tears of grief for opportunities squandered, or tears of shame for sins committed, the Lord will wipe them away (Rev. 21:4a). The ineffable joy of forgiving grace will swallow up all sorrow, and the beauty of Christ will blind us to anything other than the splendor of who he is and what he has, by grace, accomplished on our behalf." (pg 354)
(Concerning Hell and Eternal Punishment:)
"The essential thing, notes Piper, 'Is that degrees of blameworthiness come not from how long you offend dignity, but from how high the dignity is that you offend.' Our sin is deserving of infinite punishment because of the infinite glory of the One against whom it is perpetrated." (pg 356)
(*Concerning Biblical Support for Postmillennialism:)
"'In short, postmillennialism is set apart from the other two schools of thought [premillennialism and amillennialism] by its essential optimism for the kingdom in the present age.'" (pg 368, quoting Bahnsen, "The Prima Facie Acceptability of Postmillennialism," 66.)
*I must say that I found the chapter, The postmillennial View of the Kingdom of God to be particularly interesting. Sam begins by giving what seems to be a pretty tight case in support of postmillennialism (which was unexpected, naturally), and then turns around and highlights its points of weakness. What appeared to be a concession to postmillennialism only seemed (for me) to strengthen the case for amillennialism! Here are a few more quotes on the subject:
"As noted earlier, most postmillennialists concede that not everyone who is alive when Christ returns will necessarily be converted. In other words, they admit that these statements about 'all the kings of the earth' coming to worship or 'all the nations' fearing God are not to be taken as expressing a form of soteriological universalism.'"(pg 374)
(Concerning the historical progression of evangelicals from embracing a postimillennial perspective to a premillennial, dispensational one:)
"As Bahnsen points out, 'in their zeal to stand against the liberal tide, large numbers of Christians threw the baby out with the bath. In disdain for the evolutionary social gospel, sincere believers were led to reject Christian social concern for an exclusively internal or other-worldly religion, and to substitute for the earlier belief in a progressive triumph of Christ's kingdom int he world, a new, pessimistic catastrophism with respect to the course of history.'" (pg 378, see book for full citations)
(From, The Book of Revelation and Biblical Eschatology, concerning A Brief Word about Interpreting Symbolism in the Book of Revelation:)
"Most dispensational commentators contend that we should interpret the images in Revelation literally except where the context dictates otherwise. I contend that just the opposite is the case. The essence of Revelation is symbolic imagery. The language is predominately figurative and should be interpreted as such except where a literal understanding is required by the context. Thus quite 'literal' truth is communicated by means of highly figurative and symbolic visions in Revelation." (pg 407)
(From, The Antichrist in Biblical Eschatology, concerning the crucial translation of the word translated, "now" in 2 Thess 2:6:)
"The KJV is highly misleading in this instance. Its translators connect the word 'now' with the knowledge of the Thessalonians rather than the activity of the restrainer. The KJV reads, "and now ye know what withholdeth.' But clearly Paul isn't saying anything about when the Thessalonians stand in possession of this knowledge. Rather he is saying that they know who or what the restraining influence is that currently ('now') exerts his/its power over the lawless one." (pg 536-537)
As you can probably see from the highlights I've listed, the book is at times highly technical. It was often difficult to grasp the continuity of material not due perhaps to the writing style but rather the vast amount of subject matter that must be addressed, which is at times sweeping throughout large portions of scripture and at others necessitating attention to textual detail and creating point-by-point tedium. Sam covers a LOT of sub-topics, and does so with a clear, to-the-point writing style, garnering textual support from a vast amount of other theologians and with a humble attitude. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for my pastor, academically and personally! I have many times begun to read a "spiritual" or "theological" book and been completely sickened by the arrogance of the author, and disappointed by the sloppiness with which he/she makes his/her points.
I am just saying that Sam's book was refreshing in many ways.
What are some of your favorite spiritual/theological books? Do you have any recommendations? Are there books you can think of that have made a profound impact on your theology or relationship with the Lord?
A couple other such books that have had a deep impact on me in the past:
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
Cheerio,
Natasha w.
