Two nails into the Millennial coffin

I think the strongest argument for an amillennial approach to the New Testament (your eschatology does affect your approach!) is the way Paul and Jesus speak of the "two ages". In short, "this age" is characterized by things that are temporal and fallen. The "age to come" is characterized by things that are eternal. This, as a result, leaves no room for an earthly millennium (whether post-mill or pre-mill), because it would necessarily be a "third age".

G. Vos - Two Age Chart (pdf)

Kim Riddlebarger - Two Age biblical texts (pdf)

A monumental work in eschatology

I've just finished the Bible overview class I was teaching at church and, through a conversation I had, was reminded of the brilliance of Geerhardus Vos's work, titled The Eschatological Aspect of the Pauline Conception of the Spirit. This essay is absolutely phenomenal! In it, Vos argues that the Person of the Holy Spirit is the eschatological blessing. We receive the firstfruits of the Spirit in 'this present evil age' and the fullness thereof in 'the age to come'. Give it a few hours, and you'll see the forerunner to his famous work The Pauline Eschatology and where Anthony Hoekema gets much of his understanding of eschatology in The Bible and the Future. If you're new to Reformed theology, this is a great essay to understand how Reformed theologians that follow Vos (a very large crowd!) understand the way that eschatology pervades the entirety of the Christian life.

Download the pdf here!

More "Christian politics"...

Regardless of whether or not I support the Evangelical Alliance Ireland's stance toward the civil partnership bill, this sort of thing is one of the reasons I have difficulty referring to myself as an Evangelical. Identifying "Christian policies" in the civil sphere (aka - "kingdom/city of man") has become part and parcel of the "movement" known as Evangelicalism. (My local church even advertises that they are a "fair trade church"!) Due to their perturbation with being an alien and sojourner in this age, the rally cry has become "Let's unite in order to become a political force for social change!" Many hope that the social order will be 'baptized', bringing the Christ's kingdom to earth, experiencing 'the age to come' during 'this present evil age'. Many others simply hope to preserve a vestige of the "Christian past".

Although there are some that will not be happy about it, the fact remains that Evangelicalism, as a whole, has drawn the doctrinal dividing line in relation to political action (something that the New Testament authors spoke about with such great frequency). This is yet another instance where I'm left out in the cold...