WGT Shedd's Eschatology?

[RamistThomist]

I just finished Shedd's Dogmatic Theology, and he really doesn't get into eschatological positions aside from rebutting premillennialism. He does note that there will be a lot of saved at the end of history, and that seems postmillennial, but event hen he really doesn't develop it.

Does he go into it in other writings?

 

[Ed Walsh]

but event hen he really doesn't develop it.

He develops it in his commentary on Romans 11:

Romans 11:25-30
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Here's a few points I think Shedd says in the commentary below:
1. That Verses 25–32 constitute one of the most important prophecies in the New Testament.
2. That the great mass of both Gentiles and Jews (in that order) will be saved in the future times.
3. Here’s a quote from verse 26 below - “3. the great mass or body of the nation, (the Jews) who are to be converted after the evangelization of the Gentile world (Beza, Rückert, Fritzsche, Tholuck, De Wette, Meyer, Hodge). The last is the correct view,”
4. That this future time is (and will remain) unknown.
5. That this truth is known only through divine revelation.

Here’s Shedd’s comments on the passage:

VER. 25. St. Paul passes now to a prediction concerning the future of the Church, as composed both of Jews and Gentiles. Verses 25–32 constitute one of the most important prophecies in the New Testament. γὰρ] is connective only: equivalent to etenim (Winer, 448). οὐ θέλω ἀγνωεῖν] a litotes, employed to direct special attention (Rom. 1:13; 1 Cor. 10:1; 12:1; 2 Cor. 1:8; 1 Thess. 4:13). ὑμᾶς] you Gentile-Christians. μυστήριον] not in the pagan sense of an esoteric doctrine known only to the initiated, but in the Christian sense of a doctrine that requires a divine revelation in order to be known. Compare Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 2:7–10; 15:51; Eph. 3:4, 5. The divine purpose respecting the future evangelization and salvation of the Jewish people and the heathen world, must be divulged by God himself. ἐν ἑαυτοῖς] is the reading of AB Peshito, Recep., Lachm., Tregelles: παρʼ ἐαυτοῖς is supported by אCDL Tisch. Compare 12:16. If the latter be adopted, the sense is: “before yourselves” (as judges), i.e.: in your own estimation (Winer, 395). φρόνιμοι] denotes false wisdom, as in Rom. 12:16; 1 Cor. 4:10; 2 Cor. 11:19; and this is accompanied with pride. The apostle is still warning the Gentile Christian against the self-righteous spirit spoken of in verses 18–21. πώρωσις] See comment on 11:7. ἀπὸ μέρους] does not qualify πώρωσις (to denote a partial in distinction from a total hardening: Calvin); but γέγονεν (De Wette, Meyer, Hodge), or else τῷ Ἰσραὴλ (Fritzsche). The reprobation is total, whenever it occurs, but it does not occur to every individual of the nation. The qualification is extensive, not intensive; denoting the number of the hardened, not the degree of the hardening. The reprobate are only a part of the Jews. ἄχρις οὗ] implies a time when the present apostasy and rejection of the mass of the Jews will cease. τὸ πλήρωμα] the great body of the Gentiles: universitas, multitudo, ingens concursus ethnicorum (Calvin, Fritzsche, Stuart, Hodge); not the mere supplement from the Gentiles, to take the place of the unbelieving Jews (Olshausen, Philippi). Πλήρωμα is applied in the sense of a great majority, to the Jews, in verse 12; and this “fulness” is defined in verse 26, by πᾶς: the nation generally. εἰσέλθῃ] sc. εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. The church, as the etymology implies, are the elect. The “fulness” of the Gentiles constitutes a definite but immense number, whom God foreknew, called, and justified in the manner previously described by the apostle. St. Paul, here, asserts the Christianization of the globe, prior to the Christianization of the Jews. In neither case, however, is it necessary to suppose the regeneration of every individual without exception. Yet, the terms πλήρωμα and πᾶς, applied to the elect, imply that the non-elect will be comparatively few.

VER. 26. οὕτως] i.e. after the fulness of the Gentiles has entered into the church. πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ] 1. the spiritual Israel, composed of elect Jews and Gentiles together, as in Rom. 9:6; Gal. 6:6 (Aug., Theodoret, Luther, Calvin). The connection is against this: for, the apostle having spoken of the “fulness” of the Gentiles, is now describing the “fulness” of the Jews, in contrast with it. 2. the elect Jews, but constituting only a small number brought into the church from time to time: the ὑπόλειμμα of 9:27; 11:5 (Bengel, Olshausen, Philippi). According to this view, the nation as a whole is not to be restored. 3. the great mass or body of the nation, who are to be converted after the evangelization of the Gentile world (Beza, Rückert, Fritzsche, Tholuck, De Wette, Meyer, Hodge). The last is the correct view, because πᾶς is the opposite of ἀπὸ μέρους. Prior to the entrance of the fulness of the Gentiles into the church, the Jews “in part” (11:25; οἱ λοιποι, 11:7; τινες, 11:17) are blinded. Only a remnant of them are among the spiritually elect. The nation as a whole is reprobate. But when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come into the church, this state of things will be reversed. The nation as a whole (πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ) will then be spiritually elect and “saved,” and only a fraction (τὸ μέρος) spiritually rejected. γέγραπται] the citation is given freely from the Scptuagint of Isa. 59:20. The apostle does not obtain his knowledge of the future of the church from this passage, but from his own inspiration. He confirms his own prediction by the language of Isaiah. ἐκ Σιὼν] the Redeemer shall come from the people of Israel, whose capital is Zion. The Septuagint reads ἕνεκεν Σιὼν, “for Zion,” which agrees with the Hebrew. ὁ ῥυόμενος] is the Septuagint rendering of גוֹאֵל, the Messiah. ἀποστρέψει] denotes the converting power of Christ. Compare Luke 1:16, 17. St. Paul follows the Septuagint. In the Hebrew, the whole passage reads as follows: “A redeemer shall come to (or, for) Zion, and to (or, for) the converts from transgression, in Jacob.” The apostle teaches, that the deliverance alluded to by the prophet, is not confined to the “remnant,” or small fraction that has been spoken of, but refers to the future conversion of the nation as a whole.

VER. 27 is cited freely from the Septuagint of Isa. 59:21, in combination with a clause from Isa. 27:9. It describes the nature of the covenant of God with his church, in order to show what is involved in the future conversion and restoration of the Jews. St. Paul distinctly teaches that the conversion of the Gentile world, as a whole, must take place before that of the Jews, as a whole; but he gives no clue to the time when it will occur, because no clue was given to him. The μυστήριον, or fact itself, was revealed to him, but not the time and season, which is unrevealable, according to Acts 1:7.

VERSES 28–32 recapitulate what has been said, in verses 11–27, concerning the temporary rejection and final election of the Jews. κατὰ εὐαγγέλιον] denotes the point of view: “having respect to the gospel:” i.e. the spread of the gospel. Compare the use of εὐαγγέλιον for εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, in 1:1. ἐχθροὶ] is best regarded as passive: “treated as enemies by God.” The subject is suggested by αὐτῶν in verse 27: viz.: the Jews as unbelieving and rejected. The elliptical word with ἐχθροὶ is θεοῦ (Meyer), not εὐαγγέλιου (Pareus, Fritzsche), or Παυλου (Theodoret, Luther). διʼ ὑμᾶς] one purpose of the rejection of a part of the Jews was, that the entrance of the Gentiles into the church might be facilitated and hastened. κατὰ τὴν ἐκλογὴν] “having respect to the church of Christ,” that total mass which is to be called out of all nations, the Jews included: ἐκλογή is here equivalent to ἐκκλησία. ἀγαπητοὶ] denotes the love of compassion, not of complacency. See comment on 9:13. God loved, that is compassionated, these Jews who are sinners and “enemies of God.” διὰ τούς πατέρας Compare 11:16. Notwithstanding his rejection of a portion of the Jews, God still remembers his covenant with Abraham, and purposes to bring into the church the great body of his descendants.

VER. 29 contains a proof, introduced by γὰρ, that the Jews are “beloved.” ἀμεταμέλητα] Compare Heb. 12:17. The word is emphatic by position, and denotes the unchange-ableness of the divine purpose. The promise to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:7) will not be revoked. χαρίσματα] the effects of the call. κλῆσις] the particular act of election: the cause of the χαρίσματα. Calvin regards the “gifts and calling,” here spoken of, as referring only to the theocratic privileges and election; and this is favored by the preceding context, which speaks of the relation of the Jewish patriarchs to their descendants: a relation like that between the “first fruits” and the “lump,” and between the “root” and the “branches” (11:16). Pareus extends the meaning further, and makes the “gifts and calling” to be individual and spiritual, including faith, remission of sins, and salvation. The sentiment of the passage is true in reference to both national and individual election.

VERSES 30 and 31 constitute a single sentence, and are a reiteration and confirmation, introduced by γὰρ, of the teaching in verses 11–27. ὑμεῖς] you Gentiles. ποτὲ] “formerly:” before the gospel was preached to you. ἠπειθήσατε] “disbelieved,” and consequently “disobeyed,” in the manner described in 1:18 sq. The conduct agrees with the creed. νῦν] since the gospel has been preached to you. ἠλεήθητε] the Gentiles became the objects of the divine compassion (ἔλεος), by being called, justified, and sanctified, in the manner previously described. ἀπειθείᾳ] is the dative of the instrument. The unbelief of the Jew was the occasional cause of the faith of the Gentile (11:11–14). οὕτοι] the unbelieving Jews. ἠπείθησαν] sc. θεῷ. The unbelief of the Jew differed from that of the heathen, in that it related to God as revealed in Christ; the heathen unbelief had respect to God as revealed only in nature and the human soul (1:18 sq.). The Jew disobeyed, by rejecting grace; the Gentile, by transgressing law. ὑμετέρω] is objective in its force: “the compassion shown to you.” ἐλέει] is not to be connected with ἠπείθησαν (Vulgate, “non crediderunt in vestram misericordiam,” Luther, Lachm., Lange), but with ἐλεηθῶσιν (Eng. Ver., De Wette, Meyer, Philippi, Alford, Hodge). The construction of ἐλέει in the apodosis is like that of ἀπειθείᾳ in the protasis; because the two words are antithetic. St. Paul might have written τῇ ὑμετέρῃ πίστει. ἵνα ἐλεηθῶσιν] is placed after τῷ ὑμετέρω ἐλέει, for the sake of emphasizing the latter. Compare 1 Cor. 9:15; 2 Cor. 2:4; Gal. 2:10. As the Gentiles, viewed as a whole, obtained the benefits of redemption, instrumentally, through the unbelief of the Jews, so the Jews, viewed as a whole, will hereafter obtain the benefits of redemption, instrumentally, through the belief of the Gentiles.


Shedd, W. G. T. (1879). A critical and doctrinal commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (pp. 346–352). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

 

[Dachaser]

So would he be saying that God was dealing with salvation with Gentiles now, and then will deal with salvation for jews right before Second Coming?

Or is he stating that there will be PostMil before Jesus returns again?

 

[RamistThomist]

So would he be saying that God was dealing with salvation with Gentiles now, and then will deal with salvation for jews right before Second Coming?

Or is he stating that there will be PostMil before Jesus returns again?

I don't know if he saying postmil, but he rejected premil and is enumerating conditions possible for postmil.

 

[Ed Walsh]

So would he be saying that God was dealing with salvation with Gentiles now, and then will deal with salvation for jews right before Second Coming?

Or is he stating that there will be PostMil before Jesus returns again?

I think that if the timing of the end of the world were clearly taught in Rom. 11 then there would be far more agreement between Christians on eschatology. But alas, the end of the world is, and will remain a secret known only by God. Perhaps my postmillennialism is showing, but Rom. 11:15 speaks of the conversion of the Jews as "life from the dead." I think their conversion will be a real shot in the arm for the rest of the world. I personally think there will be a time of blessing after the calling of the Jews which many call the millennium. But keep in mind that many do not even believe that Romans 11 teaches the mass conversion of anyone.

 

[Dachaser]

He did seem in that passage to be presenting the Gospel converting pretty much whole earth to Christ...