It believes in a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. It believes that Christ will return and lift the curse and bring in everlasting righteousness. It refers to a belief in the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. Premillennial means before the millennium. They have a Messianic age but without the Messiah present. And they believe this will usher in the promised golden age of peace and prosperity. They believe that, by the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Spirit, the nations will be progressively converted to Christianity. But they believe in a postmillennial return of Jesus Christ. This position does believe that the ancient promises and prophesies of the Old Testament prophets will be literally fulfilled on this earth. They believe that Christ will return after the millennium. Postmillennial means after the millennium. It spiritualizes the millennium and sees the Lord’s people spending a future eternity in heaven in an exalted spiritual state. This position basically states that there will be no literal millennium on earth. It represents a future Messianic age when all these promises will be fulfilled. The millennium is the future period of peace and prosperity foretold by the prophets. The Westminster standards therefore allow for all three and basically take a position of eschatological liberty.įor those uninitiated in eschatological matters a few definitions may be in order. Twisse, the moderator, and Goodwin, the Independent, were premillennialists. All three positions were represented at the Westminster assembly and such noted personages as Dr. Presbyterian churches have for the most part historically favored postmillennialism. The Reformed churches of the continent have traditionally favored amillennialism. “Reformed theology and Reformed churches have never had a unified position on eschatology (Greek for the doctrine of future things). I was struck by the fact that, unlike other Presbyterian denominations, they subscribe to Historic Premillennialism in their creed!)Īmerican Presbyterian Church’s Position On Eschatology: (I have visited the American Presbyterian Church’s website several times to read their very good articles. I believe, finally, that it is for the safety, happiness, and comfort, of all true believers to expect as little as possible from churches, or governments, under the present dispensation, to hold themselves ready for tremendous conversions and changes of all things established, and to expect their good things only from Christ’s Second Advent.” I believe that the Jews shall be ultimately gathered again, as a separate nation, restored to their own land, and converted to the faith of Christ. I believe that, after our Lord Jesus Christ comes again, the earth shall be renewed, and the curse removed the devil shall be bound, the godly shall be rewarded, the wicked shall be punished and that, before He comes, there shall be neither resurrection, judgment, no Millennium and that not till after He comes shall the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. I believe that the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will be a real, literal, personal, bodily coming that as He went away in the clouds of heaven with His body, before the eyes of man, so in like manner, will He return. Melancholy and sorrowful as the sight is, if I did not see it I should think the Bible was not true. So far from making me doubt the truth of Christianity, they help to confirm my faith. Troublous times, departures from the faith, evil men waxing worse and worse, love waxing cold, are things directly predicted. I believe that the widespread unbelief, indifference, formalism, and wickedness, which are to be seen throughout Christendom, are only what we are taught to expect in God’s word. In spite of all that can be done by ministers, members, and churches, the wheat and tares will grow together until the Harvest and when the end comes, it will find the earth in much the same state that it was when the flood came in the days of Noah. “I believe that the world will never be completely converted to Christianity, by any existing agency, before the end comes. In a work entitled, Coming Events and Present Duties, he wrote of his premillennial belief: Ryle, Anglican Bishop, pastor, and scholar was a ‘historic premillennialist’.
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