CHAPTER SEVEN
DELAY IN PAROUSIA AND IMPACTS ON EVANGELIZATION
The counter-movement in modern evangelicalism of the reacting post-tribulationism of Alexander Reese, George Ladd, and others, while returning to an appreciation of the rapture as occurring at Christ's appearing in glory, has continued to accept the futurism of Ribera and Maitland and thus to deny its immanency. Norman Douty, for example, concludes, "The rapture is not capable of occurring at any moment. There are intervening events" (Reese A, 1956). There remains, however, a third Biblical alternative; and a growing number of modern evangelicals, such as Harold Ockenga, pastor of Park Street [Congregational] Church, Boston (1936–1969) are coming to favor a full return to that imminent post-tribulationism which constitutes the classical view of the early church and of the reformers (Ockenga H). Little has been written in its behalf since A. J. Gordon's Ecce Venu in 1889, but the time seems ripe that all three views be weighed in the light of Scripture.
Exegetical Data
Without attempting to retrace the shifting arguments of dispensationalist and of its opponents, one cannot but conclude that Scripture opposes the concept of two returns of Christ, one before a future tribulation, and another after it. For example, Isa. 25:6-11 speaks of God's swallowing up death at the Messiah's appearing, but I Cor. 15:55 quotes this post-tribulational event as occurring at the resurrection and rapture of Christian believers (Wood J.L 1956); Mt. 24:23-31 speaks of the great tribulation, then of the sun being darkened in God's wrath, then of Christ's appearing, and then of the gathering together of God's elect, the church, not the presently unconverted Israel who in 22:14 are specifically contrasted, the chosen; II Thess. 1:6-8 speaks of "rest" for the saints only at the revelation of Christ and as simultaneous with His afflicting of the unbelievers; and Rev. 19-20 speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb and of the first resurrection only at the time of His appearing to rule. To postulate with pre-tribulationism that "the main aspect" of the resurrection must have taken place seven years before this "first" resurrection is hardly normal exegesis. But if the natural reading of Scripture produces the classical doctrine of post-tribulationism, it also produces the classical doctrine of imminence. For example, Mk. 13:33-37 speaks of "watching," not simply of watching out over ones conduct, but specifically of watching for the Lord, who might come at any time; and Lk. 12: 36-40 speaks of "looking for the Lord," who comes suddenly and unannounced. Such potential immediacy is the heart of imminence.
Modern posttribulationists that has reacted against pre-tribulationism, but that still believes in certain prolonged, and yet future, antecedents to the Lord's return, exposes its own inadequacy when it is forced to insist, as does Ladd, "Whatever this means, it cannot involve a secret, any-moment, unexpected return of Christ"(Ibid.). The question should rather be raised about the legitimacy of those antecedents to the Lord's post-tribulational coming that seem to force a man to deny the Biblical teaching of His imminence.
Future Antecedents
There remain a limited number of prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled and that must be interpreted both futuristically and as antecedents to the appearing of Christ and the rapture of the church. These make up the first stage of "the wrath of God"; they seem to include the 6th seal and the first four trumpets and bowls of Revelation; and they are summarized in the Lord's words, Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: and then . . . all the tribes of the earth shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Mt. 24:29-31).The classical viewpoint believes in the imminence of Christ's coming and in His one unified, post-tribulational appearing; but it disallows prolonged antecedents to this event. Dispensational pre-tribulationism is committed to prolonged antecedents and thus preserves imminence only at the sacrifice of the unified appearing.
Reacting post-tribulationism, on the contrary, retains the hope in the unified appearing but is forced, because of its continuing belief in lengthy antecedents, to surrender the hope of immanency. Of the three views, a synthesis of preterist, historical, and futurist interpretation seems to render imminent post-tribulationism the most Biblically tenable. Furthermore, by its combining the worthwhile emphases both of dispensational pre-tribulationism and of reacting post-tribulationism, it restores the full, blessed hope of the church to one of present reality and of day by day anticipation. There is no such element like the parallel of vocabulary, nevertheless the words look alike in both instances, but in contrast to an extraordinary event, or citing the saying of Jesus which is used to augment ethical exhortation (Marshall, 1980)
Erich Grasser, the German scholar, who has treated the theme of the delay asserts (Grasser E, 1987) in contrast to many theological excavation done by Dodd, Jeremias, J.A.T Robinson, that eschatology explained by Jesus was futurist (Grasser E 1957). There is no tension about it as all pervasive is the imminent future, though ethical pressures are exerted by the kingdom, in the present (Ibid.).
While Bebbington identified four primary characteristics of evangelicals the twin axes we have identified function at times as rival polarities: some biblicist-crucicentrics exhibit a passivity that disregards the biblical emphasis upon orthopraxy; some conversionist-activists display a casual disinterest in biblical theology which suggests their evangelicalism is more a sub-cultural ideology than a coherent theological tradition. Within populist evangelicalism, theological convictions are shaped less by key theologians and senior leaders and more by personality preachers capable of compelling a crowd of several thousand. Some of the popular celebration speakers make little non-eisegetical reference to the Bible.
Erroneous teaching which prompted the appeal, v. 2b to the effect that The Day of the Lord has arrived. Most pretribulational writers have held that all references to the Day of the Lord in both the Old and New Testaments refer strictly to an eschatological period beginning with the Tribulation, extending through the Millennium.
While Bebbington identified four primary characteristics of evangelicals the twin axes we have identified function at times as rival polarities: some biblicist-crucicentrics exhibit a passivity that disregards the biblical emphasis upon orthopraxy; some conversionist-activists display a casual disinterest in biblical theology. Within populist evangelicalism, theological convictions are shaped less by key theologians and senior leaders and more by personality preachers.
The entrepreneurs of the conversionist- activist axis have substantially displaced the priorities of the biblicist-crucicentrics in some quarters of the evangelical subculture, resulting in impatience with critical reflection and an instinctive anti-intellectualism. While theological liberalism assimilates to evangelicalism ads up to mass culture, providing commodified religion repackaged for the TV age. As a result of the entrepreneurial' pragmatic indifference to the inflexible prerequisites of the old conservatism, this activism made an oblique and unintentional, but highly significant contribution to the acceptability of the subsequent post-conservative reconstruction of evangelical theology.
The collapse of the monthly magazines in the early 1980s, evangelical monthly magazines enjoyed a monthly combined UK a sale of more than 70,000. During 90’s shrank to just 42,000, and by 1999 to 28,000. This represents a decrease of 61.4% in 20 years, which indicates a devastating collapse in the market. These twenty years saw an 83% decrease in the sales of broad evangelical magazines. The merger between Christianity and Renewal in 2001 signifies the demise of a separate market for the moderate, non- or pre-charismatic evangelicals, and probably also indicates the unsustainability of second generation charismatic culture.
Once popular notions of developing a Christian mind, appear to have sunk without trace, not because of postmodern skepticism about the very notion of a world view but rather because evangelicals have lost their appetite for such intellection.
Evangelical faith, at least in Britain, appears to have entered upon a consumerist trajectory, privately engaging but publicly irrelevant. The quest for an evangelical meta-narrative has been aborted in favor of inspirational entertainment. The secularizing process has produced evangelicals whose faith is compartmentalized and privatized according to the prevailing cultural pattern. While Bebbington identified four primary characteristics of evangelicals the twin axes we have identified function at times as rival polarities: some biblicist-crucicentrics exhibit a passivity that disregards the biblical emphasis upon orthopraxy; some conversionist-activists display a casual disinterest in biblical theology which suggests their evangelicalism is more a sub-cultural ideology than a coherent theological tradition. Within populist evangelicalism, theological convictions are shaped less by key theologians and senior leaders and more by personality preachers capable of compelling a crowd of several thousand. Some of the popular celebration speakers make little non-eisegetical reference to the Bible.
Erroneous teaching which prompted the appeal, v. 2b to the effect that The Day of the Lord has arrived. Most pretribulational writers have held that all references to the Day of the Lord in both the Old and New Testaments refer strictly to an eschatological period beginning with the Tribulation, extending through the Millennium.
While Bebbington identified four primary characteristics of evangelicals the twin axes we have identified function at times as rival polarities: some biblicist-crucicentrics exhibit a passivity that disregards the biblical emphasis upon orthopraxy; some conversionist-activists display a casual disinterest in biblical theology.
Within populist evangelicalism, theological convictions are shaped less by key theologians and senior leaders and more by personality preachers.
The entrepreneurs of the conversionist- activist axis have substantially displaced the priorities of the biblicist-crucicentrics in some quarters of the evangelical subculture, resulting in impatience with critical reflection and an instinctive anti-intellectualism. While theological liberalism assimilates to evangelicalism ads up to mass culture, providing commodified religion repackaged for the TV age. As a result of the entrepreneurial' pragmatic indifference to the inflexible prerequisites of the old conservatism, this activism made an oblique and unintentional, but highly significant contribution to the acceptability of the subsequent post-conservative reconstruction of evangelical theology.
The collapse of the monthly magazines in the early 1980s, evangelical monthly magazines enjoyed a monthly combined UK a sale of more than 70,000. During 90’s shrank to just 42,000, and by 1999 to 28,000. This represents a decrease of 61.4% in 20 years, which indicates a devastating collapse in the market. These twenty years saw an 83% decrease in the sales of broad evangelical magazines. The merger between Christianity and Renewal in 2001 signifies the demise of a separate market for the moderate, non- or pre-charismatic evangelicals, and probably also indicates the unsustainability of second generation charismatic culture.
Once popular notions of developing a Christian mind, appear to have sunk without trace, not because of postmodern skepticism about the very notion of a world view but rather because evangelicals have lost their appetite for such intellection.
Evangelical faith, at least in Britain, appears to have entered upon a consumerist trajectory, privately engaging but publicly irrelevant. The quest for an evangelical meta-narrative has been aborted in favor of inspirational entertainment. The secularizing process has produced evangelicals whose faith is compartmentalized and privatized according to the prevailing cultural pattern.