Spurgeon on Eschatogy - filler until Dave resumes his series on Marriage

Introduction

In the discussion of the various aspects of systematic theology, perhaps none has seen more ink spilt in the last 100 years than eschatology. Those who have "specialized" in this field are well-known and equally well- published; however, when the discussion of eschatology comes up, the name of one of the most published Christians in the history of the church1, Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), is seldom mentioned. There are, of course, many reasons for this, not the least of which was Spurgeon's own lack of emphasis on the subject in his own ministry, as was common in his day.Given Spurgeon's notoriety and the volume of his writings, it is perhaps no wonder that almost every advocate of an eschatological viewpoint has attempted to bolster their position by appealing to Spurgeon as "being in their camp."

A brief sampling of conclusions will serve to illustrate this point. Lewis A. Drummond states in his excellent biography, "Spurgeon confessed to be a pre- millennialist."2 Peter Masters, currently pastor of Spurgeon's church, The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, stated, "If Spurgeon had lived in this century it is unlikely that he would have used the term 'millennium' to describe the first phase of the eternal glory. Certainly he would have stood much closer to amillennialism than to either of the other scenarios recognized today,"3 Erroll Hulse in his book, The Restoration of Israel, firmly declared Spurgeon to be postmillennial.4 So widespread is the effort to attach Spurgeon's name to particular prophetic systems that even the newest tribulational/rapture formulation within the dispensational camp, known as "The Pre- Wrath Rapture," calls on him for support. Robert Van Kampen states in his work The Sign, "Charles Haddon Spurgeon was not known to be one who wrote extensively on the end times. But what he did say perfectly parallels the sequence of events presented in this book."

5Obviously Spurgeon could not have held all of these positions. But, which position, if any, did he believe? Can it be determined? And why is there this degree of confusion on the subject? These are the questions that this thesis will attempt to answer. The issue is an important one, as Spurgeon continues to be one of the most popular Christian authors in print, even a century after his death. Men of different positions, whether honestly or otherwise, seek to marshal support for their own prophetic interpretations by appealing to Spurgeon for support. This is a practice that he would have certainly denounced. Commenting on the issue of "Spurgeonism," a phenomena of his own day, he stated:

Read more here...
http://www.spurgeon.org/eschat.htm