Puritan Eschatology

[JM]

The place of the Jews

Iain Murray believes that a new consideration of the Jews brought about this change of theology. He writes:

One of the first developments in thought on prophecy came as further attention was given to the Scriptures bearing on the future of the Jews.1

Quite why the Puritan preachers should suddenly consider the Jews is not really known. In previous centuries Jews were subjected to much persecution, and indeed were expelled from Britain in 1290. The change in status that the Jews enjoyed in the Puritan era is nothing short of extraordinary. Avihu Zakai describes it as an ‘ideological transformation’. However, the acceptance of the Jews came about as a result of a change in theology, not the other way around:

a crucial transformation of the Jews’ image indeed occurred in this period and… the cause of this shift was to a large extent the creation of a unique and well-defined apocalyptic tradition in Protestant and Puritan England.

http://www.4-14.org.uk/index.php/articles/puritan-eschatology/

What do you think?

 

[rgrove]

There's a good book by Dr Peter Toon that's got a lot of good information on this topic if you're interested:

Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel: Puritan Eschatology 1600 to 1660

I'm not completely sure whether you're asking, but he documents the millennial views of that time very well I think.

 

[JM]

There's a good book by Dr Peter Toon that's got a lot of good information on this topic if you're interested:

Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel: Puritan Eschatology 1600 to 1660

I'm not completely sure whether you're asking, but he documents the millennial views of that time very well I think.

Perfect, thanks.

 

[rgrove]

I'm presently reading a dissertation by De Jong that's been published again and now sold by American Vision (and probably others, but that's where I got my copy) entitled "As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations and The Rise of Anglo-American Missions 1640-1810". I've only read the first chapter so far, but it's been extremely good. It was published in 1970 if I recall correctly (I'm at work now) and does quote some from Toon's work. I think there were two or three references to that book in the first chapter, but he covers other material that Toon didn't. The book also covers a longer timeframe than Toon did. Anyhow, I thought of this post as I was reading it and figured I'd add it to the post for anyone searching for books on this topic.

http://www.americanvision.org/store/pc-709-1-as-the-waters-cover-the-sea.aspx