While Im thinking about it since you are known to apply a lot of things to the first century that a lot of us apply to the end of this age and the second coming, what time period do you take it be involving in the parable once the nobleman has returned?
I think now is the time to ask what your opponents viewpoint is--
Futurism
Definition: Futurism holds that the majority of biblical prophecies, particularly those in the Book of Revelation, are yet to be fulfilled and will occur in the future.
Key Beliefs: This view anticipates events such as the rapture, the Great Tribulation, the rise of the Antichrist, the second coming of Christ, and the establishment of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. It often involves a detailed timeline of future events.
Notable Proponents: Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, and John Hagee.
2. Historicist
Definition: Historicism interprets prophetic texts as unfolding throughout the course of Christian history, from the early church to the present day, and often extending into the future.
Key Beliefs: Historicists view the prophecies of Revelation and other apocalyptic texts as describing events that occur over the span of Christian history, including periods of persecution, the rise and fall of empires, and the ongoing conflict between good and evil.
Notable Proponents: Martin Luther, William Miller, and some Puritans.
3. Idealism
Definition: Idealism, also known as symbolic or allegorical interpretation, views apocalyptic literature as symbolic or allegorical, rather than as predicting specific historical events.
Key Beliefs: Idealists interpret the imagery and language of prophetic books as expressing timeless truths about the spiritual battle between good and evil, moral and ethical teachings, rather than forecasting particular events.
Notable Proponents: Many scholars and theologians who focus on allegorical readings of Scripture.
4. Amillennialism
Definition: Amillennialism interprets the "millennium" mentioned in Revelation 20 as a symbolic period rather than a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.
Key Beliefs: Amillennialists believe that the millennium is a metaphor for the current Church Age, where Christ reigns spiritually from heaven, and that the second coming, final judgment, and new creation will occur in the future.
Notable Proponents: Augustine, R.C. Sproul, and many Reformed theologians.
5. Postmillennialism
Definition: Postmillennialism teaches that Christ will return after a golden age or millennium during which the gospel will have successfully transformed the world.
Key Beliefs: Postmillennialists believe that the Church will usher in a period of peace and righteousness, leading to Christ's return and the final judgment. They see the millennium as a future period of Christian influence and growth before the second coming.
Notable Proponents: Jonathan Edwards, B.B. Warfield, and some modern Reformed theologians.
6. Dispensationalism
Definition: Dispensationalism is a form of Futurism that divides history into distinct periods or "dispensations" in which God interacts with humanity in different ways.
Key Beliefs: It emphasizes a pre-tribulation rapture, a literal interpretation of the Millennium, and the distinction between Israel and the Church. Dispensationalists often have detailed timelines of end-time events.
Notable Proponents: John Nelson Darby, C.I. Scofield, and the authors of the Scofield Reference Bible.
7. Posttribulationism
Definition: Posttribulationism is the belief that the Church will go through the Great Tribulation before the second coming of Christ.
Key Beliefs: This view holds that Christians will experience the tribulation period described in Revelation and that the rapture will occur simultaneously with Christ's second coming, rather than before it.
Notable Proponents: Many within the historic premillennial and amillennial camps.
--hence the heteron exegesis/eisegesis.
Shalom
J.
