TCH505‒ Historic Premillennialism : Description

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Many evangelical leaders and congregants‒ having learned the basics of eschatology from contemporary and popular sources‒ accept dispensational premillennialism, with its distinctive teachings about the timing of ecological events. But did you know that the concept of a pretribulation rapture, for instance, originated just short of 200 years ago?

There is great danger in accepting theologies without cross-examination. And confidence through study is especially called for in this question, because our beliefs can significantly affect our responses to each other and this tumultuous world. This course takes students deeper into the subject by examining the historical understanding of the end times and the return of Christ; that is, the view widely prevalent throughout 18 centuries of church history.

The contributors to this course (all respected scholars in their respective fields) suggest that classic premillennialism provides a coherent and viable approach to understanding eschatology. Their studies, which examine eschatology from biblical, theological, historical, and missiological approaches, provide a broadly credible argument for returning to the perspectives of historic premillennial eschatology.

Because a vast amount of material on the pretribulation rapture is publicly available, this course is included to provide students with a well-supported alternative that offers a fresh and less familiar perspective while fostering critical thinking.

Requirement Designation: MDiv Elective, DMin Elective
Prerequisite: No Prerequisite
Credit Hours: 3 Credits
Course Difficulty: Rigorous
Instructional Components: Textbook
Retention & Assessment: Quizzes
Educational Material Authors: Michael L. Brown, Craig S. Keener, Craig L. Blomberg & contributing authors