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Re: The 5 Points of FINALISM
 
loquat1 Views: 998
Published: 7 y
 
This is a reply to # 2,387,516

Re: The 5 Points of FINALISM


OK, if he's serious about getting to grips with this subject, and especially if he wants to shut out all 'external influences', here's an idea he might like to try. It's what I 'had' to do when my own beliefs came under pressure from authors I was reading at the time. This also answers the charge that refreshed has levelled against me at least a couple of times, namely, that I'm simply rehashing the writings or ideas of men instead of arriving at my beliefs after careful study of the Bible.

Early on in my walk with The Saviour, I resolved to get to the bottom of this once and for all. So I set all books aside, and worked thru the NT, noting down all relevant references in a notebook under their appropriate headings. So, for example, whenever the Kingdom of God was mentioned, I would record that reference under the heading 'Kingdom of God'. Whenever the NT quoted and/or interpreted the OT, I would note the references under the heading 'NT Quotations from the OT'. And so on for every subject that is remotely relevant to the general topic of eschatology. That would take in subjects such as the judgment, the resurrection, the second advent itself (of course), the new creation, hell, Israel........you name it, I had it all covered - more or less. 

It took maybe a couple of months to complete, or thereabouts. I then retraced my steps, and for each topic I simply reread every reference under each sub-heading back-to-back. The effect on me was both instantaneous and dramatic. My chiliasm was scattered to the four winds, never to be seen again. Now I can't claim originality for this method. It was the same method Arthur Carver used when he began to realize that his beliefs (pretribulation dispensationalism) were untenable. The result of his own study - The Great Consummation - is IMO one of the most powerful refutations of chiliasm ever penned. I have linked it a couple of times in other posts, and your hubby should read it s/time, but not yet. Let him arrive at his own conclusions first, lest someone should also accuse him of simply regurgitating the ideas of other men.

What first set me off on this path? My first 'Finalist' book was a little number called The Momentous Event by W J Grier. I was a relatively new Christian then, and the arrogance of youth allowed me to dismiss all his arguments as ill-informed and biased claptrap. All his arguments, that is, except for one. An innocuous-looking statement to the effect that the millennial restoration of animal sacrifices in a rebuilt temple represented nothing less than an affront to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, which was all-sufficient, made once and for all, and was itself the anti-type of those animal sacrifices. It was barely a sentence or two, but it was just enough to niggle away at the confidence I had in my own position. I may have been new to the faith, but even then I knew enough gospel truth to feel its keen edge, which was sharp enough to slice thru my own prejudices.

Eventually, the pressure from that niggle grew so strong that I could no longer ignore it, and resolved to settle the issue once and for all in the manner described above. I'm glad I did, and you should put the same idea to your hubby if there is any chance he can find the time to see it thru.

I just wish I knew where I last left that notebook.

 

 
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