Chiliasm in the Early Church

An often stated claim is that the early Christian writers were premill. Many of them had premill elements based on a particular reading of the Bible. They believed that the earth had 6000 years followed by a 1000 year millennium based on the six days of creation and one day of rest. If the Bshp. Ussher chronology is right of a 4004 BC creation date (based on adding up the chronologies in the Bible), then 6000 years was up in 1996. The lynch pin of interpretation of the exegesis that led to their premillennialism has now been falsified by the calendar and their view can now be stated to be discredited/shown false. It was testable and the test failed. Now, like the early church, we’ve got to come to grips with a Scripture that didn’t work out the way our speculations led us to think it should work out.

Anti-Christ

1John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Nuff said.

Leaven as a bad thing

A CCite wrote:

‘Leaven’ is consistently used throughout the scripture in a negative context, referring to something that is sinful, morally corrupt, false teaching, and hypocrisy, for instance:”

Actually, it’s not used consistently in that manner. One passage is enough to refute that old chestnut, but I will give you two.

Amo 4:5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; [they are] the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Expositional Constancy

The “principle of expositional constancy” is an interesting one. However, if you want to use it, I suggest a thorough search of scripture. It’s relatively easy to do with Bible search programs. If you claim a symbol always means something then you need to be prepared to deal with counterexamples lest you end up with counterexamples which show your theory to be faulty.

Expositional constancy tends to be more of a kabbalistic method. Find the secret meaning in a word and then apply it everywhere you see the word.

Scripture interpreting Scripture is a good principle if applied properly. It requires a fairly deep reading to get to that point. Otherwise it’s just stringing passages together and it’s really easy to go wrong that way.

Another great technique is to read the OT passage that is cited in the NT and then try to understand the OT context as a way of understanding the NT passage. That’s true expositional constancy.

BTW, a number of the top google web hits for the phrase “expositional constancy” bring up Chuck Missler and CS which immediately makes me suspect of the term itself as well as the application. Fig Trees become Israel, etc.

New Wineskins

I believe that shifting scriptural paradigms doesn’t often come in an instant or with a single passage or argument. It comes as our foundations start to crack under the weight of sufficient contrary information. Eventually we realize that the view we hold dear has been false all the way along. But for all who change, there’s probably a moment when the straw was added that broke the camel’s back.

On the Wings of Eagles

Watched an early AM TV commercial for “On Wings of Eagles”. They want $350 a person to bring people from Russia to Israel. John Hagee and Pat Boone were on the infomercial. Speaking of Anti-semitism, don’t these people believe that 1/3 of these people are going to be slaughtered by the AntiChrist?

Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Who’s the Anti-Semite?

The Last Judgment in the Context of Scripture

A couple of passages:

Matthew 25:31-32…When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divedteh his sheep from the goats….etc…etc.

2 Tim 4:1…I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

Not a problem for Amill and Postmill since we believe in the future judgment at the last day - as Jesus taught.

Matt 25 is a problem for the premill view since Jesus didn’t see to differentiate between his first, second or third second comings (first at the rapture, second before the millennium or third after the millennium).

As a Dispensationalist (CC end times view) timeline do YOU place those verses? As I said they are not a problem to the Amill or Posties.