This outline
follows the fifth segment of the Arts
and Education Cable Television Channel program, "The Road to
Rapture," broadcast in October 1999.
1. Christopher Columbus (first voyage 1492) -- Amillennial -- Roman Catholic
- Believed he would discover the new
heaven and the new earth.
- He believed he was fulfilling God's
will for his life.
- He had daily devotions.
- He was a student of the Bible.
- Contemporary Church leaders knew him
as a pious man.
- "I am only a most unworthy
sinner, but ever since I have cried out for grace and
mercy from the Lord, they have covered me completely. I
have found the most delightful comfort in making it my
whole aim in life to enjoy his marvelous presence."
- He named the first land he discovered,
San Salvador, "Holy Savior"
- Believed God spoke to him audibly.
- His trip was paid for by indulgences.
- He was looking for riches and fame (Kevin A. Miller).
2. Puritans -- Amillennial
-- Believed government should be conduccted by regenerated persons
(Clifton E. Olmstead, History of Religion in the United States, p.
16). They were setting up the Kingdom of God on earth. Pilgrims
seperated from the Puritans because they did not support the
established church.
- 1660-61 -- In Boston
the Puritans hung 3 Quakers because they chose to obey
their convictions rather than obey authorities (Eerdmans'
Handbook to the History of Christianity, p. 483).
- 1692 -- In Salem they
put to death 12
persons and 2 dogs believed to be witches (Olmstead, p.
81).
3. The
Revolutionary War (Declaration of Independence Signed in 1776)
-- Religion played a major role in the American Revolution.
- Religion offered a moral sanction for
opposition to the British.
- Ministers served as leaders and
officers.
- A supposed British plot, to impose
Anglican bishops in the colonies, aroused fears that
Americans would be persecuted for their religious
convictions.
- Some American denominations,
especially the Church of England, were split by the
revolution.
- Some ministers taught that victory
over the British would signal that the United States
would be the capital of the millennium (Religion and the Founding of the American
Republic).
4. Shakers (The Millennial
Church/United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing)
-- Premillennial? -- Pseudo-Dispensatioonal
- The founder, Mother Ann Lee, believed
herself to be the person through whom the Christ Spirit
was exhibited a second time (Olmstead, p. 339). She
emigrated to America in 1774.
- Shakers believed the millennium began
May 19, 1780 (Marsha Mihok).
- They believed their communal village
was heaven on earth (Ibid.).
- Since they were living in the
millennium they had to overcome sin. For example, they
instituted a doctrine of celibacy. To them sin was the
source of all sin (Ibid.).
5. Mormons (Latter-Day
Saints, est. 1830) -- Premillennial (NEW-JERUSALEM.COM, Archive 2, Record 1044)
- "Mormons believe in a
literal millennium during which Christ will reign over
the earth from two capitals: Jerusalem and Independence,
Missouri (Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 679)."
- Some Mormons believed that
their founder, Joseph Smith, prophesied that Christ would
return in 1891 (NEW-JERUSALEM.COM, Archive 4, Record 1931).
6. William Miller (Millerism/Millerite Movement)
-- Premillennial -- Click here for a picture of
Mr. Miller. You then must use the back butoon on your browser to
return to this page. -- William Miller taught that Christ would
return in 1843. Then, when He did not return, some members of the
movement changed the date to October 22, 1844. When He still did
not come, Millerites dispersed three ways:
- The majority went back to their parent
churches. Miller never started a church, just a movement.
- Some were so disillusioned that they
left the church permanently.
- Some ultimately organized the Seventh
Day Adventists (est. 1860) whose principal leader and
prophet was Mrs. Ellen G. White (Olmstead, pp. 343-5).
January 23, 2004, Edition -- © 1999-2002, 2004-- Ken Bowles
Advertising
appearing with the Spiritual Issues Page is not endorsed.
