It’s good for us as students of the Word to seek to best understand those whom we disagree with. Unfortunately this seems to be a particular weakness with the subject of eschatology, with the different views on the Millennium often being misrepresented or misunderstood.
Criswell College (a dispensational premillennial school) recently invited prominent speakers to represent their respective views on the Millennium, particularly the nature, timing and relationship to the reign of Christ.
It was great that they managed to get these scholars together in one place. Interestingly, they invited Don Preston to speak on the full-preterist view, which most consider to be heresy since it denies a future coming of Christ. However, it’s commendable that they got a leading full/hyper-preterist to represent his own view rather than be in danger of misrepresentation.
So far I’ve listened to the first 3 presentations as well as Beale’s so far and I’ve found them all very informative.
Different Views on the Millennium
- Don Preston (Full/Hyper Preterism)
- H.Wayne House (Traditional Dispensational Premillennialism)
- Kenneth Gentry (Postmillennialism)
- Craig Blaising (Progressive Dispensational Premillennialism)
- G. K. Beale (Amillennialism or Inaugurated Millennialism)
- Craig Blomberg (Historical Premillennialism)
- Panel Discussion
Here is a quick primer on the views on the Millennium in relation to Jesus’s second coming:
- Full/Hyper Preterism – Jesus returned in AD70 and we are in the New Heavens and New Earth now (!)
- Dispensational and Historic Premillennialism – Jesus will return before the Millennium, after a 7 year tribulation.
- Postmillennialism and Amillennialism – Jesus will return after the Millennium.
HT: DrReluctant
