Concluding Thoughts
Taken from: Views of the Millennium by R. C. Clouse
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The Influence of Scofield and Others.
Most premillennialists during the early nineteenth century were not dispensationalists, however. More typical of their number was David Nevins Lord, who edited a quarterly journal, The Theological and Literary Review, which appeared from 1848 to 1861. This periodical contained articles of interest to premillennialists and helped to elaborate a nondispensational system of prophetic interpretation. Lord believed that a historical explanation of the book of Revelation was preferable to the futurist outlook which characterized the dispensational view. This approach was followed by most premillennialists in the United States until after the Civil War, when dispensationalism spread among their number. Darby's interpretation was accepted because of the work of individuals such as Henry Moorhouse, a Brethren evangelist, who convinced many interdenominational speakers to accept dispensationalism. Typical of those who came to believe in Darby's eschatology were William E. Blackstone, "Harry" A. Ironside, Arno C. Gaebelein, Lewis Sperry Chafer, and C. I. Scofield. It is through Scofield and his works that dispensationalism became the norm for much of American evangelicalism. His Scofield Reference Bible, which made the new eschatological interpretation an integral part of an elaborate system of notes printed on the same pages as the text, proved so popular that it sold over three million copies in fifty years. Bible schools and seminaries such as Biola, Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace Theological Seminary, along with the popular preachers and teachers who have utilized tile electronic media, have made this interpretation popular among millions of' conservative Protestants. The new view replaced the older premillennial outlook to such an extent that when George Ladd restated the historic interpretation in the midtwentieth century it seemed like a novelty to many evangelicals. .
While the various forms of premillennialism competed for adherents in nineteenth century America, a form of postmillennialism that equated the United States with the kingdom of God became very popular. Many Protestant ministers fed the fires of nationalism and Manifest Destiny by presenting the coming of the golden age as dependent upon the spread of democracy, technology, and the other "benefits" of Western civilization. Perhaps the most complete statement of this civil millennialism was presented by Hollis Read. Ordained to the Congregational ministry in Park Street Church, Boston, he served as a missionary to India but was forced to return to the United States because of his wife's poor health. In a two-volume work, The Hand of God in History, he attempted to prove that God's millennial purposes were finding fulfillment in America. He believed that geography, politics, learning, the arts, and morality all pointed to the coming of the millennium to America in the nineteenth century. From this base the new age could spread to the entire earth. As Ps. 22:27 stated, "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him." In order to accomplish the purpose of global evangelism Read favored imperialism because the extension of Anglo-Saxon control over other nations ensured the spread of the gospel. He cited the prevalence of the English language, which made it easier to preach the Word and to teach the native people the more civilized Western culture, as one example of the benefits of Western control. Technological improvements such as the steam press, the locomotive, and the steamship were also given by God to spread enlightenment and the Christian message to all peoples. .
Whenever the United States has faced a time of crisis, there have been those who have revived civil postmillennialism as a means to encourage and comfort their fellow citizens. The biblical content of this belief has become increasingly vague as the society has become more pluralistic. For example, during tile period of the Civil War many agreed with Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of 'the Republic:' which described God as working through the Northern forces to accomplish his ultimate purpose. President Wilson's. crusade to "make tile world sale for democracy" which led his country into World War 1, was based upon a post millennial vision that gave American ideals the major role in establishing peace and justice on earth. Since World War II several groups have revived civil millennialism to counter communism and to resist domestic changes such as those brought about by the moves for equal rights for women. .
In addition to the premillennial, amillennial, and postmillennial interpretations there have been groups such as the Shakers, the Seventh day Adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) who tend to equate the activities of their own sect with the coming of the millennium. There are also movements including the Nazis and the Marxists who teach a kind of secular millennialism when they speak of the Third Reich or the classless society. .
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