Politics & Prophecy: A Lawyer’s View of the End Times
Appendices
by Gerald R. Thompson
Appendix B
COMPARISON CHART OF PROPHETIC VIEWS
The Nature of the Kingdom of God on Earth – Its Significance
| DISPENSATIONALISM | HISTORIC PREMILLENNIALISM | POSTMILLENNIALISM | AMILLENNIALISM |
| Historic divine covenants are: Mutual (agreement btw. God and men) Limited duration (some have ended) – revocable Different (discrete) parties Binding on descendants until revoked |
Historic divine covenants are: Mutual (agreement btw. God and men) Perpetual duration (none ended) – irrevocable Different (overlapping) parties Binding on descendants forever |
Historic divine covenants are: Unilateral (dictated by God to men) Perpetual duration (none ended) – irrevocable Same parties, i.e., God’s elect/saints Binding on the elect, not descendants |
Historic divine covenants are: Unilateral (dictated by God to men) Perpetual duration (none ended) – irrevocable Same parties, i.e., God’s elect/saints Binding on the elect, not descendants |
| The Church age is a parenthetical (unplanned) aside in God’s plan of history | The Church age is the initial phase of Christ’s kingdom | The Church age is when Christ’s kingdom will gradually increase and dominate politically | The Church age is the final kingdom era of Christ (i.e., spiritual only) |
| Christ’s spiritual and political dominance are both deferred until the future millennium (entirely ‘not yet’) | Christ has spiritual dominance in the Church age. Political dominance is deferred until millennium. Spiritual is ‘here,’ political is ‘not yet’ | Christ has both spiritual and political dominance in Church age – the spiritual is ‘here,’ the political is ‘not yet’ – saints must bring the political into being | Christ has spiritual dominance in the Church age (‘here’). Political dominance is deferred until eternity (‘never’) |
| The Church will escape the Antichrist kingdom. | The Church will suffer the Antichrist kingdom. | The Church will conquer the Antichrist kingdom. | The Church will suffer the Antichrist kingdom. |
| Millennium is a future earthly kingdom of Christ for 1,000 literal years inaugurated by the 2nd coming | Millennium is a future earthly kingdom of Christ for 1,000 literal years inaugurated by the 2nd coming | ‘Millennium’ is already here – an earthly kingdom of Christ of indefinite duration will be introduced by conversion of Jews | ‘Millennium’ is merely symbolic. Christ never will have an earthly kingdom in history – His kingdom has already fully come |
| Church Age saints will rule the world politically via a Davidic (Jewish) kingdom (the Golden Age) | O.T. and N.T. saints will rule the world politically via a worldwide kingdom based in Jerusalem (the ‘Golden Age’) | Church Age saints will rule the world politically via the nations (the Golden Age) and usher in the 2nd coming | Past saints in heaven exercise a present spiritual reign. The Golden Age is in eternity, not history. |
| Satan is physically bound by God during millennium. Saints will experience literal (material) blessings. | Satan is physically bound by God during millennium. Saints will experience literal (material) blessings. | Satan is spiritually bound by saints in the present age. Saints will experience literal (material) blessings. | Satan is spiritually bound by God in the present age. Saints will experience only spiritual blessings. |
| Culture and morality will decline prior to 2nd coming | Culture and morality will decline prior to 2nd coming | Culture and morality will progress (improve) prior to 2nd coming | Culture and morality will decline prior to 2nd coming |
| The Church and Israel are separate and distinct now. God’s future plans for Israel are also distinct (political and spiritual) | The Church and Israel are separate and distinct now. God’s future plans for Israel are also distinct (political and spiritual) | The Church has become the Israel of God. God’s future plans for them are one and the same. | The Church has become the Israel of God. God’s future plans for them are one and the same. |
The Nature of the Kingdom of God on Earth – Timing and Sequence
| DISPENSATIONALISM | HISTORIC PREMILLENNIALISM | POSTMILLENNIALISM | AMILLENNIALISM |
| Daniel’s 70 weeks has a gap/parenthesis – 69 weeks have passed, the 70th week is yet future | Daniel’s 70 weeks are linear 490 days (all future), and signal the beginning of the last days | Daniel’s 70 weeks are linear 490 years in the past, and have no future implications | Daniel’s 70 weeks are linear 490 years in the past, and have no future implications |
| The Rapture of the Church is imminent | The Tribulation period is near at hand | The 2nd coming is far off | The Tribulation is far off |
| At ‘secret’ Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise, and living saints will be transformed. The saints will meet Christ in the air and immediately be taken into heaven | The First Resurrection (when the dead in Christ will rise and living saints will be transformed) will occur after the Tribulation. Saints will meet Christ in the air and return to earth | The First Resurrection is spiritual only and refers to personal regeneration in Christ (a ‘new creation’). There will be no Rapture. Saints stay here on earth at all times. |
The First Resurrection is spiritual only and refers to personal regeneration in Christ (a ‘new creation’). There will be no Rapture. Saints stay here on earth at all times. |
| The Tribulation period of 7 years immediately follows the Rapture. | The Tribulation period of 3½-7 years begins the end times and is yet future. | The Tribulation period is past, occurring about 70 A.D. for 3½ years (the destruction of Jerusalem) | The Tribulation period will occur in the indefinite future, following the Church age |
| 2nd coming follows the Tribulation | 2nd coming follows the Tribulation, coincident with the First Resurrection | 2nd coming will follow Christ’s earthly kingdom, coincident with the Second Resurrection | 2nd coming will follow the Tribulation and coincide with Second Resurrection |
| Millennium is literal 1,000 years | Millennium is literal 1,000 years | Millennium is present age of indefinite duration. | There is no ‘millennium’ except as an allegory |
| Jews (not the Church) will be regathered and restored to their land | Jews (not the Church) will be regathered and restored to their land | The Promised Land is no longer promised to the Jews, nor is it important geographically | The Promised Land is no longer promised to the Jews, nor is it important geographically |
| The Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt and the old sacrificial order restored for the Jews | The Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt, and a modified Levitical system will be implemented (Jews only) | Jerusalem temple will never be physically rebuilt, and no part of ceremonial law will be restored | Jerusalem temple will never be rebuilt, and no part of the O.T. ceremonial law will be restored |
| All Jews will be saved in millennium. Among Gentiles, only the redeemed will enter the kingdom. | All Jews will be saved at 2nd Coming. Of the Gentiles, only the unsaved will enter the kingdom. | All Jewish people will be saved in Church age. Not all Gentiles will be saved | All Jewish people will be saved in Church age. Not all Gentiles will be saved |
| Gentile nations will serve Israel in millennium, with Jerusalem as Christ’s world HQ | Israel will be first among the nations in millennium, with Jerusalem as Christ’s world HQ | Jews and Gentiles are equal now and forever – No world HQ | Jews and Gentiles are equal now and forever – No world HQ |
| The 2nd Resurrection of the wicked dead only follows millennium. Unsaved are judged at Great White Throne, saints judged separately at Bema Seat, and then eternity | The 2nd Resurrection of the dead (saved and wicked) follows the millennium, saved and unsaved both judged at White Throne (same as Bema Seat), and then eternity | The Second Resurrection is physical, for both saved and wicked, coincident with 2nd coming, followed by judgment at Great White Throne, and then eternity | The 2nd Resurrection is physical, for both saved and wicked, coincident with 2nd coming, followed by White Throne judgment and then eternity |
Previous: Appendix A – Prophecy Chart (Overview)
Next: Appendix C – A Brief Timeline of the End Times
ENDNOTES
* Ver. 8.0. Copyright © 2013-2020 Gerald R. Thompson. All rights reserved. Used by permission. All Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version.