Augustine Set the Stage
A central figure in our theological tradition is Augustine (354-430). In his classic work, City of God, Augustine devoted the last three books to the question of what the future holds for the people of God and the world. Augustine offered four key theological insights that have helped shape our Presbyterian tradition.
First, Augustine interpreted the numbers in the book of Revelation as symbolic. He did not believe, for example, that the 1,000 years spoken of in Revelation 20 was a literal period of 1,000 years. He believed that 1,000, being the cube of 10, was a perfect number. This perfect number symbolized totality and vastness. For Augustine Christ’s reign had already begun in the church. It would continue until its fulfillment, a length of time known only to God.
Second, Augustine believed that, of the two resurrections spoken of in the book of Revelation, only one was in the distant future. The first resurrection, according to Augustine, referred to an individual’s new birth in Christ and had already begun in the church. The second resurrection would be universal and take place at the end of time, bringing every person before the judgment seat of God. Augustine believed that not understanding this important distinction carried some away into “ridiculous fantasies.”
Third, Augustine believed that the binding of Satan spoken of in Revelation had already taken place. Satan was bound when Christ triumphed over him on the cross. To the objection that Satan appeared to be quite well and active in the world, Augustine responded that were Satan not presently hindered by God, no mortal would be able to endure his wrath.
Fourth, Augustine understood that some passages in Scripture are ambiguous, especially those that deal with the future. He believed that we ought not try to be more clear than Scripture.
Augustine has been claimed by two schools of eschatological thought, the amillennialist and the postmillennialist school. Amillennialists believe that Christ is now reigning in the world through the church. They do not believe there will be a millennium qualitatively different from the church age. They see both good and evil continuing in the world until the end of time in the same general proportions as always have been. The wheat and tares will grow together until Christ returns to usher in the eternal kingdom of God.
Postmillennialists tend to believe in a gradual victory of the gospel to such a degree that the world becomes largely Christianized. This future millennium, of significant length, will be a period of peace and justice, the like of which has not yet existed. They believe that the leaven of the gospel will eventually leaven the entire lump. The Great Commission will be fulfilled, and “the Earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.”
More Recent Developments
There were many doctrines of the church that Martin Luther and John Calvin attacked. The eschatology of Augustine, however, was not one of them. Calvin scoffed at those theological systems which created complicated scenarios from the book of Revelation as “too childish either to need or to be worth a refutation.” John Calvin is most often placed in the amillennialist school, but he is also considered a postmillennialist by some. Our Westminster Confessional Standards, written in the 1600s, offer broad theological affirmations without slipping into detailed speculation about end-time scenarios.
In recent centuries, Reformed theologians have staked their claims in a variety of camps. In the early part of our country’s history, most prominent American preachers, led by theologians like Jonathan Edwards, adopted a postmillennial view of the future. America, in those days, was a land of opportunity, optimism, spiritual revival and social reform. The church was on the move and optimism was great. Many could envision a millennial reign of Christ in America that would prepare the way for the second coming and final consummation.
The 20th century, however, saw a breakdown of this spirit of optimism. The world did not seem to be moving toward a more Christian future, as postmillennialists suggested. Two world wars and increasing social diversity increased the pessimism in church and society. This spawned a rise in premillennial views of the future that look for the reign of Christ in a literal 1,000-year kingdom that will follow the second coming.
It took the Christian church centuries of hard-fought theological strug-gle to develop a consensus in the area of Christology. Yet after almost 20 centuries, the church has still to develop the same consensus in the area of eschatology, the study of “last things.” Historically most Reformed theologians have tended to adopt either the amillennialist or post- millennialist position.
Though even we have no clear consensus, our tradition points us in three helpful directions. First, we believe that the kingdom of Christ is already present and reigning in our midst, however incompletely. Second, we always focus on the fact of Christ’s return, even if we do not understand exactly how it will take place. Third, we believe that working for the kingdom and watching for Christ’s return must always go hand in hand, for no one is certain of the details of God’s plan. In the next article, we will explore how our Presbyterian beliefs differ from one increasingly popular viewpoint today, a system called dispensational premillennialism.
ROBERT BOHLER JR., is pastor, Central church, Athens, Ga.
This is the first of a three-part series.
