Question of the monthThe QuestionThe doctrinal statement talks about "the personal and premillennial coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." What is meant by imminent? - Roger, Lebanon, OH
The AnswerYour question arises from article 11 in the EFCA Statement of Faith (SOF): "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." It will be helpful to trace the history of the two movements that became the EFCA by looking at their respective Statements of Faith. In 1884 the Swedish EFC drafted a SOF that included a single statement on the Word of God: "This organization accepts the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as the Word of God, containing the Gospel of salvation for all men and the only perfect rule for teaching, faith and life." The Norwegian/Danish EFC Association drafted a SOF in 1909, which was subsequently adopted in 1912, and this served as the model for the 1950 EFCA merger SOF. This SOF contained 12 articles, with article 9 addressing eschatology broadly but not specifically: "We believe that Jesus Christ, who ascended into heaven, shall come again in great power and glory." This stood until 1947 when the Ministerial Association of the (Swedish) EFCA approved a nine-point SOF, in light of the importance of putting in writing what they believed prior to the merger. A few points adopted in this 1947 version became the official articles in the merger SOF of 1950. One of those articles was on premillennialism, as originally stated in article VII of the (Swedish) EFCA: "We believe in the personal, and pre-millennial 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." This exact article was adopted in the 1950 EFCA merger and became article number 11. Although both movements--the Norwegian/Danish and the Swedish--were birthed in a Dispensational framework of understanding the Bible, which embraced a premillennial and pretribulational eschatology, this position was not formally and officially espoused in a SOF until 1947 by the Ministerial Association of the Swedish EFCA and then by the EFCA merger in 1950. "Premillennial" in the SOF referred to Christ's physical return at which time He would establish His earthly millennial reign (in contrast to postmillennialism and amillennialism). This meant Christ could come soon, at any time, and we are to be prepared for His coming. This notion of "being prepared" for Christ's coming is supported by many Scripture passages (Matt. 24:42-44, 50; Mk. 13:32-37; Lk. 12:40; 1 Thess. 5:2; Tit. 2:12-13; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 22:7). Since this was Dispensational Premillennialism, however, it meant that "imminency" carried with it a technical meaning, viz. pretribulation rapture. A. T. Olson wrote, "The imminency of Christ's return was synonymous with the pre-tribulation return" (This We Believe, (Minneapolis: Free Church Publications, 1961), 317). This meant that Christians/the Church would be raptured prior to the tribulation, which preceded the establishment of the millennial kingdom. Over time, the understanding of our SOF broadened to include Historic Premillennialism. There was a shared understanding of Christ's return to establish His millennial kingdom. The definition of "imminency", however, was broadened to include Jesus' return "at any time - 'time' being understood broadly as a short period of time" (Doug Moo, The Rapture: Pre-, Mid-, or Post- Tribulational? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 210), not necessarily an "any second" return. This emphasizes the parallel truth that that necessary signs will precede Christ's return, which is also taught in the Scriptures (preaching of the gospel, great tribulation, false prophets, signs in the heavens (Matt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21), coming of the man of sin (1 Thess. 2:1-10), salvation of Israel (Rom. 11:12, 25-26)). This broadened definition of imminency was adopted by the Committee on Ministerial Standing in 1977, chaired by Dr. Thomas McDill, who was serving as President of the EFCA. Although the Committee acknowledged that the pretribulation position was the most commonly held position in the EFCA at the time of the merger, they were sensitive to the fact that the SOF addressed imminency not a "pre-tribulation rapture." On this basis, ordination councils were to permit the ordination "candidate to interpret imminency within his convictions as long as such interpretation remains within the framework of premillennialism." This broadened definition of imminency became an official EFCA position in 1984 when Doug Moo, professor of New Testament who embraced Historic Premillennialism and a broader definition of imminency, was granted tenure at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, our EFCA seminary. More ResourcesOlson, A. T. This We Believe. Minneapolis: Free Church Publications, 1961. (link) |
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