Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-103).

Thesis (M.A.)--Briercrest Biblical Seminary, 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-103).

No description available.

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Reformed Theological Seminary, 1997. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-216).

À l’intérieur du protestantisme évangélique français, les frères larges, qui se distinguent des frères étroits dénommés darbystes, représentent une dizaine de milliers d’adeptes, membres inscrits ou simples sympathisants. Ils se rattachent en principe aux Communautés et Assemblées Évangéliques de France (CAEF). Leur implantation a débuté dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle, et s’est faite principalement par l’action conjuguée d’évangélistes suisses et britanniques. Depuis leur irruption dans l’Hexagone, les frères larges, forts de leur expérience individuelle de la conversion, se prodiguent pour faire des prosélytes, qui adoptent un ethos à la fois exaltant et exigeant. Or, jusque dans l’entre-deux-guerres, alors que la culture globale de la société est encore largement chrétienne, les convertis apparaissent d’extraction plutôt modeste ; le recrutement se diversifie par la suite. Collégialité du ministère de la parole et anticléricalisme péremptoire obligent, toute l’animation des communautés ecclésiales des frères larges révèle une insigne disposition égalitaire et un mépris du formalisme pincé. Ainsi perdure, non sans concessions désormais, une réticence notoire à l’égard du pastorat classique.À l’échelle nationale, si l’évolution globale des CAEF pointe bien vers une honnête structuration dénominationnelle, elle n’efface pas encore la mémoire de leur originelle inappétence à jouer le jeu prétendu mondain de la confessionalisation du christianisme. Du reste, s’ils ont bien entrepris quelques œuvres sociales, les frères larges ne s’attèlent guère au siècle présent, fût-il celui des institutions religieuses et de leurs réalisations œcuméniques. / Within French Evangelical Protestantism today, the “Open Brethren”, who are to be distinguished from the “Closed Brethren” (also called darbystes), number around ten thousand adherents, whether registered members or sympathizers. Their churches generally belong to the Communautés et Assemblées Evangéliques de France (CAEF). The movement had its beginning during the second half of the nineteenth century, mostly through the combined efforts of Swiss and British evangelists. Since their appearance in metropolitan France, the Open Brethren, on the strength of their individual experiences of conversion, have devoted themselves to winning converts, who then adopt an ethos that is both elating and demanding. Up until the period between the two world wars, while the general culture of French society was still largely Christian, converts joining this movement were of modest descent; recruitment has since become more diversified. Because of a shared ministry of the Word and a peremptory anticlericalism, leadership in Brethren circles reveals a distinctive egalitarian disposition and a disdain for stiff formalism. Thus their well-known suspicion of classic pastoral ministry persists, though not without some concessions. On the national level, if the CAEF assemblies on the whole seem definitely to be moving toward true denominational structuring, they still remember their original resistance to entering the so-called worldly game of Christian confessionalism. And although they have created a number of social and charitable organizations, they shun the “present age”, including religious institutions and their ecumenical achievements.

No description available.

Few predictions can have been less accurate than the claim by the anonymous author of London's Glory (1661) that the Fifth Monarchists would prove a 'never to be forgotten sect'. After brief literary glory as the subjects of Abraham Cowley's play Cutter of Coleman Street (1663), they languished in obscurity until revivified by Sir Walter Scott in 1822 in hia novel Peveril of the Peak. Since they have no modern descendants, the Fifth Monarchists have not received the close study by denominational historians which the Quakers, for example, have enjoyed. The Fifth Monarchists' call for violent revolution has led baptist and Congregationaiist historians to miniinize or ignore the close associations which these denominations had with the movement. The Fifth Monarchists showed few of the egalitarian tendencies of the Levellers and Diggers which have attracted so many modern Historians. In the present century the Fifth Monarchists have been the subjects of only two brief monographs. In 1911 Miss Louise Brown published her work, The Political Activities of the Baptists and Fifth Monarchy Men in England during the Interregnum, a careful and accurate survey of this aspect which, however, left untouched the broader issues of the nature of the movement, and the causes of its rise and decline. P.G.Rogers attempted a broader examination in the Fifth Monarchy Men (1966), but the brevity of this work and the inadequate research on which it was based made the results far from satisfactory. Four main aspects of the Fifth Monarchist movement have been studied, and these are indicated in the title of the thesis. These are, firstly, the circumstances which explain the origins and spread of millenarian ideas in general during this period, and of Fifth Monarchist doctrines in particular, and, secondly, the social composition of the movement. Thirdly, an attempt has been made to establish what political, social, economic and religious structures were envisaged by the Fifth Monarchists, and to explain why specific proposals were made. Lastly, an examination has been made of the later history of the movement, and the subsequent careers of its members. Chapters 1-3 sketch briefly the intellectual climate of the period, and then set the Fifth Monarchists in the context of the general European politico-religious situation following the Reformation. The unprecedented division of Western Europe was seen by many early Protestants as a cataclysmic event, explicable only in terras of the fulfilment of the prophecies of the end of the world. Subsequent political developments, such as the french and Dutch Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years' War, were fitted into the prophetic scheues of Daniel and Revelation. The standard interpretation of the prophecies had to be modified only slightly to guarantee the triumph of the godly (Protestants) before rather than after the end of the world. As early as the 1530s there was an attempt at Münster to set up a New Jerusalem, though the revolutionary political and social doctrines associated with this episode served to discredit millenarianism for many years. But in the early part of the seventeenth century, when the Protestant cause was again in danger of extinction, millenarianism flourished once more. In England, the government was sufficiently strong to prevent another Münster, but a series of self-proclaimed propnets and messiahs, a number of millenarian Puritan ministers and the writings of the academics Mede and Brightman all testified to interest in millenarian ideas. There was also a popular and related concept of England as a chosen nation, entrusted with the execution of God's cosmic plans. When the civil war broke out in 1642, it was rapidly placed by Puritan preachers in a millenarian framework, and accepted in this way by many in the army and in Parliament. A study of the writings of clergy supporting Parliament in the period 1640-53 suggests that about 70% of them believed that a last age of unparallelled glory was about to dawn. But millenarianism was a very flexible concept, and many who looked forward to a time of spiritual perfection abandoned a doctrine which many in the army and the sects equated with social revolution. The execution of King Charles, making way for King Jesus, intensified millenarian excitement, but the Rump did nothing to answer these hopes. The emergence of the Fifth Monarchist movement was a response to the apparent apostacy of all in authority from the millenarian cause. Fifth Monarchists claimed the right of the individual citizen, as saint, to throw down ungodly governments because they had despaired of the magistrates or any in official position doing so. They were an opposition movement, and always remained such except briefly during the Barebones Parliament of 1653. The composition of the Fifth Monarchist movement (chapter 4) reflects the importance of the New Model Army in its origin. Fifth Monarchism was a largely urban movement, and many of the towns where it flourished were garrison towns or naval establishments. Many of the saints had served in the army, as officers, soldiers, or chaplains. There are no Fifth Monarchist records comparable to the Quaker lists of births, marriages and deaths, but an analysis of the two hundred and thirty Fifth Monarchists whose occupations can be establisned gives some indication of their social composition. There was a small but important group of ministers and high-ranking army officers of relatively high social origin. Of the remainder, a large proportion, about 30%, were engaged in the cloth and leather industry and trade. Wone of them was a large-scale merchant or producer. The movement attracted only small masters, journeymen, apprentices and labourers. Grace was more important than birth, and there was no discrimination against those who were economically unfree. Servants and labourers could play an important role, and women were also prominent. A considerable amount of biographical information has been accumulated during the course of this study, and this has been summarized in the Biographical Appendix. The careers of some, such as Feake and William Medley, have been traced for thirty years after the last date when they were previously known. The Fifth Monarchists were a very loosely-organized body, and never formulated a common programme. But their main objectives can be established, and these are discussed in chapters 6-8. The evidence is drawn from the numerous manifestoes, declarations, sermons and biblical expositions published in the 1650s, and from the State Papers. The limited data from the Restoration period suggest that these objectives remained constant. The Fifth Monarchists demanded the destruction of the privileged orders, the national ministry, the lawyers, the great merchants, and the ungodly magistrates and nobility. In their place, they sought to establish a theocracy, an oligarchy of the 'visible saints', and to establish a new social structure in which godliness not birth would be the criterion of superiority. They called for a cheap and decentralized legal system using the Mosaic Code, and for the relief of the poor and of debtors. The principle of private property was accepted, but there were demands that the lands of the ungodly should be confiscated and re-distributed. The saints sought the encouragement of domestic production by a policy of protection and by a trade war against the Dutch, despite the fact that the latter were a Protestant nation. Beggars, debtors and thieves were all to be used as a pool of cheap labour for domestic industry. Despite the attacks on merchants, this programme cannot be classified simply as anti-capitalist. Its diversity is explained partly by the difference between the aspirations of the ministers and few gentry and those of the artisans.

No description available.

Text in Afrikaans / Weens kerke se eskatologiese verskille is daar twee hoofstrome van millennialisme: chiliasme en antichiliasme, wat tradisioneel as alternatiewe teenoor mekaar gestel word. Hierdie verhandeling behels egter 'n holistiese vergelyking van verskillende eskatologiee en hulle gepaardgaande millennialismes, ten einde die drie hoofstrome van millennialisme: pre-, post- en amillennialisme, met Konig se millennialisme te vergelyk. 'n Literatuurstudie toon dat Konig eskatologie definieer as die realisering van God se doel (die verbond) met die skepping deur die persoon van Jesus Christus. Die realisering van hierdie doel het met Christus se eerste koms in die Nuwe-Testamentiese bedeling begin. Derhalwe handhaaf Konig 'n Christosentriese eskatologie i.p.v. die tradisionele 'verdinglikte' eskatologie wat die eskatologie definieer as die allerlaaste dinge wat moet gebeur voor die einde van die wereld. Waarteoloe dus in die algemeen slegs 'n gedeelte van die N.T. as eskatologiese veld beskou (soos bv. Barth wat die eskatologie by Christus se opstanding begin, en Moltmann wat dit by Christus se kruisiging begin), sien Konig die hele N.T. as eskatologie in 'n Christologiese sin. Teenoor sommige teoloe wat weer die O.T. as eskatologie klassifiseer, betoog Konig dat hoewel die O.T. toekomsgerig is, dit nie ware eskatologie kan wees nie, want toe was God se doel/verbond/koninkryk nog nie in die mens Jesus Christus verwesenlik nie. In 'n toekomsgerigte sin kan die O.T., volgens Konig, wel 'eskatologie' genoem word, maar dan sal dit 'mislukte eskatologie' wees. Maar die werklike realisering van God se doel met die skepping deur Christus, het eers in die N.T. met die eerste koms van Jesus Christus begin. Die resultaat van ons evaluering van Konig toon duidelike teologiese verskille wat Konig met die chiliaste en met die antichiliaste het. Konig kan bv. nie saamstem met die chiliaste se idee van 'n millennium wat vir 'n bepaalde tydperk sal bestaan nie. Ook gaan hy nie akkoord met die antichiliaste se sg. millennium wat vir 'n onbepaalde tydperk sal duur nie. Dog ten spyte van verskille tussen Konig en die antichiliaste, is daar wel betekenisvolle ooreenkomste. Hier dink ons bv. aan die felt dat Konig saam met die antichiliaste betoog teen die chiliaste se siening van 'n letterlike vrederyk op die ou aarde wat presies eenduisend jaar sal duur. In ons konklusie is dit duidelik dat die verskille tussen Konig en ander millennialiste te wyte is aan veel meer as net hulle onderskeie hermeneutiese interpretasies van die eskatologie en die sg. millennium. Teenoor die tradisionele eskatologie se verengde teleskopiese tonnelvisie wat die eskatologiese veld beperk net tot 'n allerlaaste eindtydelike bedeling, staan Konig se bree makroskopiese voelvlugvisie wat die eskatologiese lyn vanaf Christus se krip tot by sy troon op die nuwe aarde laat strek. Maar aangesien dit in die lig van Konig se ekumeniese teologie tog moontlik is om eerder die punte van ooreenkoms as die van verskil tussen die millennialistiese benaderings te beklemtoon, word 'n ekumeniese toekomsblik vir die millenniumdebat voorgestel. / Because of eschatological differences amongst churches, there are two main streams of millennialism: chiliasm and antichiliasm, which is traditionally set as alternatives against each other. This dissertation, however, contains a holistic comparison of different eschatologies and their accompanying millennialisms, in order to compare the three main streams of millennialism: pre-, post- and amillennialism, with Konig's millennialism. A literary study shows that Konig defines eschatology as the realization of God's purpose i.e. the covenant) with the creation through the person of Jesus Christ. The realization of this purpose had started at the first coming of Christ in the dispensation of the N.T. Therefore Konig maintains a Christocentric eschatology in stead of the traditional 'thing-ifying' eschatology that defines eschatology as the very last things to happen before the end of the world. Whereas theologians in general would envisage only part of the N.T. as the field of eschatology (as for instance Barth who starts his eschatology at the resurrection of Christ, and Moltmann who starts it at the crucifixion of Christ), Konig would deem the whole N.T. as eschatology in a Christological sense. Over against some theologians that would also classify the O.T. as eschatology, Konig would argue that although the O.T. is oriented towards the future, it could not be true eschatology, since God's purpose/covenant/kingdom was not yet realized through the man Christ Jesus in the O.T. Because of the futurological force of the O.T., it could well be called 'eschatology' according to Konig, but then it would only be an 'unsuccessful eschatology'. But the true realization of God's purpose with the creation through Christ, had only started in the N.T. at the first coming of Jesus Christ. The result of our evaluation of Konig shows distinct theological differences that Konig has with both the chiliasts and the antichiliasts. Konig could for instance not agree with the chiliasts' idea of a millennium that will exist for a definite period of time. Neither could he agree with the antichiliasts' notion that the socalled millennium will continue for an indefinite period of time. Though despite the differences between Konig and the antichiliasts, there are also meaningful similarities. Take for instance the fact that Konig joins the antichiliasts in their argument against the chiliasts' idea of a literal kingdom of peace on the old earth, which will presumably last exactly for one thousand years. In our conclusion it is quite clear that the differences between Konig and the other millennialists are the result of much more than their respective hermeneutical interpretations of eschatology and the socalled millennium. In contrast to the narrow telescopic tunnel vision of the traditional eschatology that limits the eschatological field to an ultimate endtime dispensation, stands Konig's broad macroscopic birdflight vision that stretches the eschatological line from Chrtist's crib to his throne on the new earth. But since it is possible in the light of Konig's ecumenical theology to rather stress the points of agreement than that of disagreement amongst the various millennialistic approaches, an ecumenical vision for the future of the millennium debate is proposed / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / Th. M. (Sistematiese Teologie)