The Eschatology of Jonathan Edwards

Here is is another article that I contributed to the Dictionary of Premillennial Theology .  As with the previous articles, I would change some things in this material if contributing to this or a similar compilation.  Nevertheless, I believe the following to be both accurate and helpful.

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Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is generally recognized as America’s greatest theologian and philosopher. At the time of Edwards’ ministry most of Protestant theology, being heir to the amillennialism of Augustine and Calvin, spiritualized the Scripture’s teaching concerning the millennium. Edwards, on the other hand, was innovative in the development of a postmillennial eschatological vision. Edwards saw the millennium as a literal historical reality which was the telos toward which history had been progressing since the fall of Adam. He thought it probable that this latter-day glory would begin in America. His millennial expectation is often considered to have been a major factor in the social movement resulting in the American Revolution.

Edwards interpreted tribulational passages as predictions of the apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church and the suppression of true religion. He believed that the Reformation marked the shortening of days (Matt. 24:22), which is to be identified with the restricting of the powers of spiritual Rome and the papal Antichrist. Applying the year-day theory of interpretation to the twelfth chapter of Revelation, Edwards proposed that the millennium would arrive approximately 1260 years after 606 A.D., when the Bishop of Rome was recognized as having universal authority. Thus, the millennium was imminent and the revival fires of the Great Awakening could very well be harbingers of the coming age when great progress in technology would free mankind from material concerns to engage more fully in the noble exercises of mind and vital religion. At this time the kingdom of Antichrist will be utterly overthrown and there will be a national conversion of the Jews. Following the millennium will come a period of great apostasy and tribulation, which will be superseded by the personal Second Coming of Jesus Christ in infinite majesty. The saints will be gathered unto their Head, forever to be in his presence, and the wicked will be summoned before the judgement-seat of Christ. (Kevin Stilley )

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, general editors Perry Miller and John E. Smith, 10 volumes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957-1993); ______, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, reprint 1992, 2 volumes (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Press, 1834).

The Eschatology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I wrote the following article on the eschatology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon for the Dictionary of Premillennial Theology . There are things I would add and/or say differently if writing it today, but I believe it still to be accurate and helpful.

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Eschatology of :

C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), famous London pastor known as the “Prince of Preachers,” believed that the personal return of Christ should be proclaimed dogmatically, from the pulpit of the preacher and the lectern of the teacher. He was convinced that failure to preach the Second Advent would inevitably result in preaching and teaching which he described as “lame.” His own sermons abound with the theme of hope, and central to this hope is the Great Hope of His soon coming. A confession statement signed by Spurgeon and published in the Sword and Trowel explicitly states; “Our hope is the Personal Pre-Millennial Return of the Lord Jesus in Glory.”

When preaching upon eschatological matters, Spurgeon thought it proper to deal primarily with those things he perceived to be “clearly revealed.” Thus, his eschatological preaching tended to focus upon imminency and the believer’s response to the Great Hope. Some have taken Spurgeon’s declination to meticulously systematize his eschatology as an opportunity to impose their own eschatological grid upon his teachings. Recently, there have been attempts to redefine Spurgeon as a midtribulationist. However, Spurgeon’s sermons, as well as his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, clearly demonstrate a posttribulational premillennial eschatology that is generally referred to as historic premillennialism. (Kevin Stilley)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: C. H. Spurgeon, “The Ascension and the Second Advent Practically Considered,” Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia, vol. 4, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1951), pp. 437-448; ______. The Gospel of Matthew, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987). ______. “He Cometh With Clouds,” The Treasury of the New Testament, vol. 4, (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, n.d.), pp. 663-669; “Mr. Spurgeon’s Confession of Faith,” The Sword & The Trowel, August 1891, pp. 446-448;

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The Eschatology of George Eldon Ladd

I wrote the following article on George Eldon Ladd for the Dictionary of Premillennial Theology . It has been several years since I wrote it. If writing it now there are things I would add and/or say differently, but I believe it still to be accurate and helpful.

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George Eldon Ladd, The Eschatology of :

To discuss the eschatology of George Eldon Ladd (1911-1982) is to discuss the entirety of his New Testament Theology. Ladd was convinced that eschatology is the basic unifying structure for New Testament Theology. Central to his New Testament Theology is the Kingdom of God, which Ladd identified as God’s kingly rule. This rule is dynamic in that it was inaugurated at the first coming of Christ, yet consummation awaits the Parousia of the Son of Man in glory.

Ladd contends that the Kingdom of God invaded the present evil age in the person of Christ. Christ’s coming established a new era of salvation in which the sovereign rule of God is made manifest and which in some real sense inaugurated “the age to come.” God, who will accomplish his redemptive plan at the end of the age, is working redemptively in the present through his Son who has come. Thus, the Kingdom of God is both a future eschatological victory over Satan and also a present reality. Further, in 1 Cor. 15, Ladd identifies three distinct stages of redemptive activity that accompany the transition. Christ’s rule in the present will be superseded by his reign in glory (the millennium). His reign in glory will give way to the third stage which is the fullest manifestation of the Kingdom of God; the Father’s reign in glory.

Like many of the early church Fathers, Ladd holds to a posttribulational premillennialism, generally referred to as historic premillennialism. However, unlike many adherents to this position, Ladd does not identify the difficulties encountered by the Church throughout history as the time of tribulation. Ladd holds to a future scenario in which the Church will go through the Great Tribulation. Hence, the Blessed Hope refers to union with the Lord at His Coming. The Second Coming of Christ will conclude the time of tribulation as He gathers his people unto himself and judges the wicked. His Second Coming will usher in the thousand year reign of Christ during which Satan is incarcerated in the bottomless pit. At the end of the thousand years Satan will be unbound and there will be a final eschatological war in which Christ will subdue all hostile powers.

Ladd identifies the Church as the spiritual Israel to whom the promises of the Old Testament are to be applied. When Israel rejected Jesus, Israel rejected the Kingdom and is now the object of judgment rather than blessing. However, sometime during the Millennium those of the literal Israel will be saved through faith in Christ. Thus, they will become a part of the Church but will retain their identity as a distinct people.

Ladd’s eschatological dualism has been extremely influential during the last half of the twentieth century. In a survey conducted in 1984 of members of the Evangelical Theological society, respondents indicated that John Calvin was the only theologian who had been more influential than Ladd in their theological formation. (Kevin Stilley)

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1956); ______, Crucial Questions About the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1954); ______, The Gospel of the Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1959); ______, Jesus and the Kingdom; The Eschatology of Biblical Realism (New York: Harper & Row, 1964); ______, The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1974); ______, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1974); Mark Noll, Between Faith and Criticism (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986).