Jonathan Edwards and World History

[Peter]

Edwards' scholar George Marsden on Edwards' eschatology: postmillennial, historicist.

http://edwards.yale.edu/media/marsden.mp3

Edwards appeared to believe the millennium would be around the year 2000

http://edwards.yale.edu/

 

[Pergamum]

His comments on Revelation is his only full commentary which Edwards wrote I believe.

He hoped that the stirrings of the Spirit in his own time were the first evidences of a worldwide expansion.

To some degree - he was right. His books and his mutual prayer with those in England seemed to help launch a great epoch of missionary work starting with Carey, et al.


Two things that launched the wordlwide missionary expansion:
1) A belief in a sovereign god,
2) An optimistic eschatology (i.e. postmil or optimistic amil).

 

[Peter]

Originally posted by trevorjohnson
His comments on Revelation is his only full commentary which Edwards wrote I believe.

He hoped that the stirrings of the Spirit in his own time were the first evidences of a worldwide expansion.

To some degree - he was right. His books and his mutual prayer with those in England seemed to help launch a great epoch of missionary work starting with Carey, et al.


Two things that launched the wordlwide missionary expansion:
1) A belief in a sovereign god,
2) An optimistic eschatology (i.e. postmil or optimistic amil).

Didn't know about the commentary on Rev!

 

[Peter]

New-Old Time Religion

http://edwards.yale.edu/images/pdf/usnews.pdf

Jonathan Edwards and modern evangelicalism

excerpt:

Evangelical scholars and intellectuals especially lament the decline
of the evangelical mind since the generation of Edwards. During the
last century in particular, says Wheaton College's Noll, "Christian
reasoning as a whole, through use of the Bible, theology, and
doctrine, simply hasn't measured up. The scandal of the evangelical
thinking is that there is not enough of it, and that which exists is
not up to the standards that Edwards established."
The fundamentalist turn in evangelicalism, in Noll's view, is a wellintentioned
but inadequate response to challenges Edwards would
have met more thoughtfully, with intelligence and religious
conviction. In fact, if evangelicals had heeded Edwards's criticism of
Enlightenment science and philosophy, they would have been less
frightened by later scientific theories, like Darwinian evolutionary
theory. More theologically informed readings of Scripture might
also have discouraged the fundamentalists' use of biblical prophecy
as what Noll calls "a complete and detailed preview of the end of
the world"--often for dubious political purposes. Most evangelicals,
for instance, have sensible reasons for their support of Israel,
including respect for its democratic institutions. But fundamentalist
zealots who base their uncritical support on end-times scenarios
are so mechanistic in their use of Scripture that they view even
President Bush's effort to negotiate a peace settlement as a betrayal
of prophecy.

 

[Pergamum]

Here's the link to Joanthan Edward eschatological beliefs:


http://www.reformed.org/books/edwards/redemption/index_hisred.html

Here is an interesting article too:

http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=9|61|602


Trevor

 

[Peter]

Thanks for the links! I've heard something of his famous work on the history of redemption I just never infered he would present his end times beliefs there, which seem quite logical now.

I just ordered an intro to Edwards from Gerstner. I've read that he was one of the worlds foremost Edward's scholars.

 

[Peter]

The Gerstner article is great. Interesting Edwards also believed the Papal antichrist would be destroyed in 1866, covenanters also believed this and that the millennium would begin this date. They figured the heathen would trample the temple 42 months (Rev 12). One day equaling one year which totals 1260 years of the reign of Antichrist. 606 they pinpointed as the beginning, 606 being when Emperor Phocas made the bishop of Rome "Universal Bishop". 606 + 1260 = 1866. Thanks again.