Illustrated Video Clip Highlighting the Four Major Views on the Millennium

Dr. David P. Murray, professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, narrated an illustrated video clip (11 minutes long) that walks through each of the four major views on the millennium. I’ve previously recommended his ebook explaining the four views of the millennium because he makes the discussion very clear with graphics and illustrations, and he does an excellent job presenting the views in a way that stays true to each position. In this video clip, you can not really tell which position he takes.

The big takeaway I had from this video clip was how similar all four views are when it comes to the big things: Jesus’ death, the importance of the church age, Jesus’ return, resurrection from the dead, judgement of all men, Jesus’ glorious reign on the new earth in the eternal kingdom. If you have a few minutes, take the time and watch this video. Then download the ebook for future reading.

Four Millennial Views Explained: A Helpful & Free E-Book on Eschatology

I’m never one to turn down a chance to open the proverbial “can of worms”.  I’ve gotten myself in heaps of trouble on my blog and elsewhere over the years.  (In fact I started a group blog on KJV Onlyism, so you know I have no sense left in me!)  So, on the heels of my recent post, “Doctrinal Disagreement (on Secondary Matters): Just a Teaching Issue“, I thought it might be good to test the waters with a post on eschatology.

I recently came across an excellent e-book explaining the four primary millennial views (yes there are four) that was a joy to read.  Even if I didn’t lean amillennial, I think I would have appreciated the clarity with which Dr. David Murray, professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, MI) explained the four positions: amillennialism, postmillennialism, historic premillennialism, and dispensational premillennialism.  The freely available e-book (download it as a .pdf or view it at Scribd), is laid out in a question and answer format complete with pictures — helpful pictures (there’s not many diagrams or end-times charts, unfortunately 😉 ).

This little book (57 pages but much shorter if you took out the pictures and repetition) is well worth your time, if only to help you see where the areas of disagreement are.  Knowing where we disagree will highlight how much we really do agree about.  Knowing why others hold to their views also allows us to see that our opponents may just revere the Bible and love Christ as much as we do.

I wish end-times theology wasn’t so divisive.  In reading through this, I was reminded afresh of the focus believers need to maintain on both this present earth, and Christ’s grand accomplishment which transforms our entire experience as well as on the future hope we have laid up for us in heaven, which will be realized with the re-creation of everything into a new heaven and new earth. Surely we can all agree on that.

I encourage you to give this little primer a read through.  Then feel free to speak up for your view of choice in the comments.  I want to close with a passage that was referenced all throughout the paper and which seems appropriate here:

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  (2 Pet. 3:11-13 ESV)

Dr. Murray has additional resources at his blog, such as animated time-lines of the various viewpoints (and wow does this fellow have an accent!).  Don’t forget to feel free to dig in to the can of worms in the comments section below!

[HT: Nathan Bingham]