Prof. David J. Engelsma
20 articles · 6 topics
David J. Engelsma (b. 1939) is a Protestant Reformed theologian who pastored Protestant Reformed Churches before serving as professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament at the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids. A prolific contributor to The Standard Bearer, he has written on marriage, covenant theology, amillennialism, and the distinctive doctrines of the Protestant Reformed tradition.
Read Articles by Prof. David J. Engelsma
Reformed Amillennialism - A Spiritual Fulfillment of Isaiah 65:17ff - Part I
The literal interpretation of Old Testament prophecy ends in a carnal Messianic kingdom. The literal interpretation of the prophecy of Isaiah 65:17ff., advocated by postmillennialist Christian Reconstructionism, ends in an earthly kingdom of Christ. Besides, a consistently literal interpretation…
Reformed Amillennialism - A Spiritual Fulfillment of Isaiah 65:17ff - Part II
The postmillennial dream of a "Christianized" world in history rests finally on Old Testament prophecy of a coming, glorious kingdom of Christ (see the editorial, "Those Glorious Prospects in Old Testament Prophecy," in the Aug. 1, 1996 Standard Bearer). That Old Testament prophecy which more than…
Reformed Amillennialism - A Spiritual Interpretation of Isaiah 65:17ff.
Postmillennialism - the teaching about the last things that posits the earthly victory of the church and a coming "golden age in history - rests its case, finally, on Old Testament prophecy. Emphatically not on New Testament doctrine about the days leading up to the coming of Christ. Old Testament…
Reformed Amillennialism - An Introduction
Response to the editorial, "Jewish Dreams" (the Standard Bearer, Jan. 15, 1995), has made clear how deep and entrenched are the inroads of postmillennialism into Reformed circles. The editorial, written at the beginning of a new year, reminded Reformed Christians that our only hope, according to…
Reformed Amillennialism - Apostasy and Persecution
It is the Reformed doctrine of the last things that the last days are a time of departure from the faith by many and a time of persecution of the true church by a wicked world. Apostasy and persecution characterize the entire age from Christ's ascension to His second coming. They increase and…
Reformed Amillennialism - Matthew 24 - Part I
The risk that an editor takes when he launches a series of editorials is that the series will be interrupted. Reasons for the interruption are varied - and sometimes compelling. The danger includes that the interruption will be extended for some time and several issues of the magazine. By the time…
Reformed Amillennialism - Matthew 24 - Part II
The apparent difficulty with Jesus' words in Matthew 24:34 is that they seem to predict the end of the world in the lifetime of His disciples. He has been instructing the disciples concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world (v.3). He has just spoken of His visible, bodily…
Reformed Amillennialism - Matthew 24 - Part III
Matthew 24, 25 is Jesus' answer to the question of His disciples in 24:3. The question was, "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The question combined the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the end of the world at…
Reformed Amillennialism - Matthew 24 - Part IV
Standing decisively against J. Marcellus Kik's interpretation of Matthew 24:3-35, particularly verse 34, in his book, An Eschatology of Victory (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1971), are the following considerations drawn from the passage itself. 1) Kik's interpretation ignores that part of the…
Reformed Amillennialism - Revelation 20
The name by which the distinctively Reformed doctrine of the last things is known is "amillennialism." This name derives from the 20th chapter of Revelation. Six times in verses 1-7 is mentioned a period of "a thousand years." An angel binds Satan for "a thousand years" (vv. 1, 2). The result is…
Reformed Amillennialism - Those Glorious Prospects in Old Testament Prophecy
It is those glorious prospects in Old Testament prophecy that are the real basis in Scripture for the postmillennial dream. The postmillennialists make a half-hearted appeal to Revelation 20 (see the editorial in the Standard Bearer, April 15, 1995). They refer to a stray text, here and there, in…
Reformed Amillennialism – The Victory of Christ in History – Part I
Jesus Christ is victor. He is victor already now. He is victor in this world. We do not see this yet. But we believe it as the clear testimony of the Bible. In His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, He has become the Lord. He sits now at God's right hand. He wields the power of providence,…
Reformed Amillennialism – The Vistory of Christ in History – Part II
The gross error of postmillennialism is that it misconceives the victory of Christ in history as carnal rather than spiritual. Gary North is wrong when he says, "It's not a question of 'dominion vs. no dominion'; it's a question of whose dominion" (Unconditional Surrender, ICE, 1988, p. 317). It is…
Try the Spirits - A Reformed Look at Pentecostalism - Part I
Foreword to the Second Printing The Evangelism Committee and the Congregation of the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois are thankful to God that a second printing of this booklet is necessary. For it means that God is giving this testimony to the Reformed faith and life wide…
Try the Spirits - A Reformed Look at Pentecostalism - Part II
The Reformed Testing of Pentecostalism's Spirit Pentecostalism replaces the Word of God in the Church and in the life of the member of the Church with experience, i.e., human feeling. This is one of its basic errors. Essentially, it is an attack on the Word, whether it replaces the Word completely,…
Try the Spirits - A Reformed Look at Pentecostalism - Part III
The Reformed View of the Christian Life Does not Pentecostalism, despite its serious errors, have something to contribute to the churches of the Reformation, something, in fact, that these churches very much need? Should not Reformed believers learn something from Pentecostalism, something that…