Prophecy/eschatology Articles
Do you know if you are a futurist, historist, allegorist, one of the many flavors of preterist or if you are A-millennial, pre or post millennial in your view of prophecy. Do you know the difference and where these different views and systems of interpretation came from? Do you believe in a Rapture or a literal kingdom of God now. Do you really really really know? I will seek to explain these positions in a fair manner in future writings. These articleS from Wikipedia will help very much.
Schools of Prophetic Interpretation
Generally speaking, there are four approaches or perspectives in Christian eschatology. There are multiple views because different readers begin with differing assumptions on how to understand the words of scripture. Particularly, one's eschatology will be determined by how literally one interprets the actual words and phrases of scripture, especially in the book of Revelation. For example, one who believes that every word of scripture was meant by God to be taken at its normal linguistic meaning will naturally come to a premillennial view, while someone who believes that the words of scripture are symbolic of meanings other than their primary linguistic meaning will come to one of the other views, depending on the level of symbolism applied.
The Historicist looks to Scripture, and especially to its fulfilled prophecies, for the religious significance in past or present historical events.
Main article: Historicism (Christian eschatology)
The Preterist believes that most or all of the prophecies, especially of the book of Revelation, have already been fulfilled. Revelation is understood as predicting the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, which was the event prophesied by Jesus that would signal the "end of the age" (see Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 17; 21). The opening and closing verses of the book of Revelation state that the events prophesied in it were to take place "shortly," and that the time was "near" (Rev 1:1, 3; 22:7, 10��, 20). The book fits into the category of a "covenant lawsuit," in which judgment is pronounced against the nation of Israel for violating the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant. It prophesies the end of that covenant, the beginning of the New Covenant, and the inheritance of the Kingdom of God by the saints (cf. Dan 7:18; 12:1��).
Main article: Preterism
The Futurist looks for religious significance for the present time in events that are thought to be future in history or beyond history. The Futurists have been subdivided into Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, and Amillennialism, named after their particular interpretation of the "thousand years" of Rev 20.
Main article: Futurism (Christian eschatology)
The Idealist looks for regularities, patterns or laws of history or of the internal life which are of perpetual religious significance. These patterns may be continually displayed in history or displayed at numerous times or in a special context (such as in the Liturgy). Idealism may be combined with historicism or futurism, so that the pattern is an echo of a consummate or archetypical event sometime in history or at the end of the world. Additionally, some interpretations are purely metaphorical. Diversity of opinion arises when a particular passage concerning the kingdom of heaven is interpreted ideally, for example, which other groups interpret as history, and others as future or future beyond history. All of these would be opposed to a merely metaphorical interpretation of the same passage.
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This Wikipedia article is toO long to post here but gets to the meat of the matter.
CLICK HERE ->>> Summary of Christian eschatological differences