Evangelical Free Church of America Turning Amillenialist?
WayOfLife.org reports:
“EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH CONSIDERS DROPPING PREMILLENIAL BELIEF - The Free Church in America (EFCA) is considering dropping its Premillennial statement of faith. The EFCA Board of Directors accepted the second draft of the revised statement on October 19, 2006, and if approved at the next Board meeting it will go to the Convention for a final vote in February 2007. The current statement says: “We believe in the personal and premillennial and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this ‘Blessed Hope’ has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer.” The revision would remove the words “premillennial and imminent” as well as the statement that this blessed hope has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. Even if the revised statement is not approved by the denomination, the very fact that it has been proposed and twice approved by its board of directors is evidence of a growing rejection of Premillennial theology. The EFCA has 1,278 churches. It is enlightening that the proposed new EFCA statement of faith removes both the imminency of Christ’s return and the thought that Christ’s coming has a vital bearing on the believer’s life and service. We are convinced that the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ is not only Scriptural but it is also the only position on Bible prophecy that produces a vital bearing on Christian living. Thus, giving up Premillenialism has huge ramifications. It will be interesting to see if the current spread of Reformed theology among Baptists will result in the growth of amillennialism.”
Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies and Professor of Spiritual Development and Culture (CCL) at Dallas Seminary recently met with the EFCA ministers along with Elliott Johnson (Trad Dispensationalism), Douglas Moo (Historical Premillennialism), Greg Beale (Inaugurated Millennialism, also often associated with amillennialism) to discuss eschatology and the EFCA’s consideration of changing their doctrinal statement to include amillennialism (Bock represented Progressive Dispensationalism).
An interesting “future” awaits us as many are turning to a more reformed/amillenial view…
For those interested in all things “amillenial,” check out Kim Riddlebarger’s excellent blog “The Riddleblog“, a blog devoted to amillenial eschatology, as well as his book “A Case For Amillenialism.”
I’m so happy that the EV Free church is, Lord willing, going to allow non-premillennialists to be members and ministers of its churches!
Limiting the church to premillennialism would have excluded men like John Wesley, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and most evangelicals from the 17th and 18th centuries from its churches.
The greatest need today is for the church to be Christ-centered in emphasis, and it would be a shame to exclude someone who has the resolve to proclaim Christ crucified, buried, and risen for our forgiveness because of a difference of opinion on the millennium.
God bless all within the EV Free.
John Peters said this on May 30, 2007 at 9:39 am
I recently spoke with the Church Planting coordinator for the EV Free over Colorado/Wyoming and he told me that I would have to sign a doctrinal statement which included a statement adhering to premillenialism. That was as of three weeks ago tomorrow.
michael mcminn said this on September 13, 2007 at 10:29 am
Might I suggest a prophetic significance to what appears to be a growing departure from a natural, historical, literal interpretation of biblical texts dealing with end-times & the Church. Such IMO portends an eventual departure from support for & hope in the literal restoration of Israel (the Jews, Romans 9-11). And this too, the abandonment of Israel seems plausable from America, a nation mentioned nowhere in the apocolyptic texts of the Word.
We’re also reminded how God’s grace abounds towards those who endear Israel, the ‘Apple of God’s Eye’… Genesis 12:3a “…I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse…” Sobering times we live in.
A shift towards Amillenialism is a drift towards a loss of the fullness of God’s blessings, and a drift away from sound hermeneutical principles that has served the EFCA so well…
Ed Soto said this on September 21, 2007 at 2:26 am
I wholeheartedly concur with the following:
Limiting the church to premillennialism would have excluded men like John Wesley, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and most evangelicals from the 17th and 18th centuries from its churches.
The greatest need today is for the church to be Christ-centered in emphasis, and it would be a shame to exclude someone who has the resolve to proclaim Christ crucified, buried, and risen for our forgiveness because of a difference of opinion on the millennium.
God bless all within the EV Free.
I disagree with the following because it makes no sense:
A shift towards Amillennialism is a drift towards a loss of the fullness of God’s blessings, and a drift away from sound hermeneutical principles that has served the EFCA so well…
Premillennialism–especially of the dispensationalist form–makes Israel, not Christ, the hermeneutical lens for interpreting scripture…and this is just plain WRONG HEADED. Scripture needs to be christocentrically interpreted, not Israel-centrically interpreted. There are not two plans for salvation: one for Israel and one for the Gentiles. Christ died once, for all, to unite all in him, so that, as Gal. says, there is neither Jew, nor Gentile…etc. in Christ Jesus. Millennialism divides. Christ unites. Millennialism–especially the dispensational form, speaks of one salvation for the Jews and another for the Gentiles. The bible knows only what Jesus claimed of himself: “I am the way the truth and the life and NO ONE comes unto the father but through/by ME.” That goes for both Jews and Gentiles.
Mike Clarke said this on October 8, 2007 at 6:39 pm
check out scripture verse by verse at audiobiblecommentaries.org
It is a teaching on the Rapture.
Linda said this on February 22, 2008 at 6:46 pm