Allison, Gregg R. The Church: An Introduction. Short Studies in Systematic Theology 5. Wheaton: Crossway, 2021. 164pp excluding end matter.
SUMMARY AND CRITIQUE
Allison divides his theology of the church into two parts. Part 1 grounds the theology of the church in Scripture and theology. Part 2 is oriented to what Allison calls “mere ecclesiology” and “more ecclesiology” (italics original) where he treats various foundational topics (or doctrines) of the church: identity, leadership, government, ordinances/sacraments, ministries, and future. Each foundational topic is split into two sections: (1) mere ecclesiologywhere Allison presents what is considered common ground amongst all Christian churches and denominations and (2) more ecclesiology where Allison addresses the beliefs and practices of different churches and denominations.
Personally, I do not believe Allison’s approach to ecclesiology was appropriate for this series (SSST), which is a short study of the topic. As becomes clear while reading The Church, due to the frequent quotes and footnotes, Allison takes his much lengthier monograph entitled Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, which is 496 pages, and attempts to condense it into a mere 164 pages instead of writing a new book designed to be short. The result leads to shallowness and confusion in most topics treated by Allison. For example, Allison desires to focus the majority of The Church not on what the Bible says about the church (mere ecclesiology), but on the different beliefs and practices of different churches and denominations (more ecclesiology). Because of the heavy focus on the disagreements between churches and denominations, The Church casts doubt that the Bible says much conclusive about the church and that most is open to one’s own interpretation. Further, Allison spends too much space explaining the Roman Catholic positions on the church and ecclesiological issues without ever giving a critique of the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrine, thus, legitimizing that false church. Many readers will probably believe that the Roman Catholic Church is a legitimate church after reading The Church.
What Allison should have done was give one position on the identity and function of the church so that there was one clear message being conveyed and then give resources for those desiring to know more. A short study cannot (and should not) cover every topic or issue of a given doctrine; Allison forgot this while condensing his lengthier monograph to fit SSST series.
Below are further critiques of The Church in order of their appearance in the book.
Allison focuses only on three metaphors of the church (chapter 1) that highlight the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit in “re-creating” the church. I would have liked him to focus on more biblical metaphors, such as the church as the Bride of Christ.
Allison concludes chapter 1 on the Triune God and the Church with a theological error that must be categorized as a mistake on his part not picked up by the editors. Allison claims that it is the people of God who elect those who will believe in God rather than God himself who elects those who believe: “There is one people of God, who from eternity past has graciously elected all those who will believe in him by faith and walk with him in obedience, worship, love, and service” (42). What Allison probably meant to write (if we are to be charitable) is something like the following: “There is one people of God. God, from eternity past, has graciously elected all those who will believe in him by faith and walk with him in obedience, worship, love, and service” (additions in bold). Errors such as this should not make it past Crossway’s proofreading stage.
Allison claims that the elder qualification of “the husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2) “refers to marital faithfulness” (78). He elaborates as to what marital faithfulness means: “if married, elders must be devoted covenantally to their spouses and must shun all inappropriate relationships with other people” (78). This interpretation is dubious as the text simply does not say “the husband of one wife” refers to marital faithfulness in the way Allison describes it. Further, Allison does not support his interpretation from the biblical text or from secondary sources; he simply makes the claim. This example of poor exegesis is one of the reasons many biblical scholars and Christians do not trust systematic theologians. Systematic theologians frequently write as if they have a predetermined conclusion and then force Scripture to conform to their conclusion or pull Scripture out of context (proof-texting). Allison has fallen prey to forcing his predetermined conclusion into the biblical text.
Allison seems more concerned to explain what various denominations believe than what Scripture teaches. He essentially affirms all positions. When reading this, one would think that anything goes when it comes to the church and that the Bible doesn’t have anything authoritative to say on Ecclesiology. Sadly, many churches do whatever they want regarding the church because of books like this one that seem to affirm everything.
Allision rarely gives his opinion. Two exceptions are women as elders, where claims women cannot be elders (138) and woman as deacons where he claims women can be deacons (144).
Allison should never have treated the millennium in chapter 8. There is no point in a short study on ecclesiology. Further, there is a theological error in his summary of dispensational premillennialism (see my comments in my summary of chapter 8). Finally, Allison’s choice of including the theological positions of many denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church (which is not a church), and neglecting other denominations, such as the Orthodox churches, seems arbitrary. Why include the Roman Catholic Church’s positions and not the Orthodox church’s positions? Why not call out the Roman Catholic Church for its ecclesiological heresies? Why neglect major positions of other denominations and church beliefs, like the positions taken by many Pentecostals around the world that believe apostles of Jesus Christ still exist? We are never given answers to these questions and, because of that, Allison’s choices seem arbitrary.
SUMMARY OF EACH CHAPTER
PART 1: FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES
Chapter 1: The Triune God and the Church
The church is the creation (or “re-creation” as Allison puts it) of the triune God where all three persons of the Trinity played a role (22). For Allison, the activity of the triune God in the “re-creation” of the church is seen in three biblical metaphors used of the church: the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit (22–23).
The People of God
“[H]uman beings as redeemed by God are his people” (24). The people of God are not limited to the New Covenant Church, but span all eras of salvation history (24). The Old Testament focuses on the people of Israel as the people of God (24), whereas the New Testament focuses on those whom Jesus saves through the gospel as the people of God (25).
Allison sums the idea of the people of God succinctly: “both the Old and New Testament present the one people of God in two aspects: as the people of Israel in old covenant relationship with him and as the people of the church in new covenant relationship with him. Believers constitute the one people of God” (27).
The Body of Christ
The church as Christ’s body was inaugurated after Jesus’ saving work on the cross, resurrection, and ascension, meaning that the church did not exist until after Jesus’ ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit (29, 32; Eph 1:20–23).
The metaphor of the body of Christ portrays four key matters for the church.
- “As the body, the church submits to Christ, its head” (29).
- The church “is a diverse body with many parts united to one another” (30). The church’s diversity is seen in two realms: (a) its people (Acts 2:17–18; Gal 3:26–28) and (b) its spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:14–20).
- The “types of relationships that should mark Christians in the church” (31). Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ (31; 1 Tim 5:1–2).
- The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper (32). “The body of Christ is properly a united church beautifully symbolized as its members stream forward to partake of the Communion elements and participate together in the Lord’s Supper” (32).
The Temple of the Holy Spirit
Like the body of Christ, the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit indicates that the church came into existence after Jesus’ ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit: “The outpouring of the third person of the Trinity on the day of Pentecost gave birth to the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit. As such, the metaphor applies only to the new covenant people of God” (35, 41).
The promise of the triune God dwelling with his people is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to permanently dwell in all his people, making the church the temple of God: “The church is the place of the presence of God and the answer to the crucial question we’re asking: How will God once again dwell with his people?” (39).
Chapter 2: The Church according to Scripture
The following is Allison’s “minimal” concept of the church (51). The church is Christ followers who . . .
- “on a local level, worship, mature, and evangelize together as a particular church.”
- “on a global level, constitute the universal church of all who embrace the gospel.”
- “when deceased, become part of the heavenly church, enjoying rest from their earthly labors and worshipping the Lord face-to-face.”
- “long for Christ’s return and their participation in the wedding to the Lamb.”
The rest of this book (Part 2) focuses on the local church (point #1 above).
PART 2: MERE ECCLESIOLOGY AND MORE ECCLESIOLOGY
Chapter 3: The Identity of the Church
This chapter elucidates the nature of the church in terms of its identity markers or key attributes, focusing first on what all churches believe and practice (mere identity) and then on the different notions of the attributes according to the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches (more identity).
Mere Identity
Allison follows the Nicence-Constantinopolitan Creed to determine the identity markers (key attributes) of the church: “We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church” (55).
- Oneness. “The church is characterized by unity, especially in relation to sound doctrine” (56; see John 17:11, 21–23; Eph 4:1–6, 13).
- Holiness. “[T]he church is characterized by holiness. This purity is positional, in the sense that the holy church is set apart for, or consecrated to, God and his purposes” (56–57; see 1 Cor 1:2; 1 Pet 1:14–16; 2:9).
- Catholicity. “Catholicity” refers to the church’s universality (καθολικός = “universal”), not the Roman Catholic Church (57). “The church is catholic because of (1) the presence of Christ in it and (2) the universal commission given to it by Christ” (57; see Matt 28:18–20; Luke 24:44–49; Acts 1:8; Rom 16:17–18; Titus 3:10–11).
- Apostolicity. “[T]he church is apostolic in the sense of adhering to the teachings of the apostles, as those doctrines and practices were written down in Scripture” (59; see1 Cor 14:37; Eph 2:20; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:4, 6, 10, 12; Titus 1:3; 2 Pet 2:3).
More Identity
Roman Catholicism
Within Roman Catholicism, the four attributes of oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity experience significant transformation.
- Oneness. The oneness of the church became centred on two factors in addition to common doctrine: (1) liturgy, “which became oriented toward the clergy,” and a common leadership structure, “which became hierarchical, concentrated in the papacy, and more and more corrupt” (60). “As the only church that possesses the concrete bonds of a common faith, a common liturgy, and a common hierarchy, the Roman Catholic Church emphasized the claim that it alone is the true church of Christ” (60–61).
- Holiness. “[H]oliness became associated with certain castes of Christians: clergy (bishops, priests), religious (monks, nuns), and saints. Through participation in Holy Orders, the Roman Catholic clergy are transformed by the infusion of divine grace so that their very essence is of a different quality from that of the laity” (61–62).
- Catholicity. “Catholic universality is grounded in the Church’s self-identification as the prolongation of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. As the whole Christ—deity, humanity, and body—subsists in the Catholic Church, and as Christ is everywhere present, then logically the Catholic Church is universal” (62).
- Apostolicity. “The church extended its apostolicity to include an authoritative Tradition and an authoritative Magisterium, as well as added the doctrine of apostolic succession” (63).
Protestantism
- Oneness. “[O]neness or unity became centered on the preaching of the gospel and the celebration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper” (65).
- Holiness. Holiness was focused on full conformity to the image of Christ, which awaits the return of Christ in the age to come (65). “Protestantism looked to church discipline as a divinely given means to maintain purity in the face of unrepentant sinful people and entrenched sinful situations” (65).
- Catholicity. Allison never states what Protestants believed (or believe) about catholicity. One would assume, then, that they believed the same as what Allison presented in his section on “Mere Identity.” Allison does have this to say about Catholicity: “The Protestant commitment to catholicity eventually resulted in Protestant missionary movements, fuelled by Jesus’s Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20)” (65).
- Apostolicity. “[A]postolicity came to refer to ‘the church’s focus on preaching, hearing, believing, and obeying the teachings of the apostles, written down in the canonical New Testament writings’” (66).
Chapter 4: The Leadership of the Church
This chapter addresses the leadership of the church, focusing first on what all churches believe and practice about leadership (mere leadership) and then on the different leadership offices/positions, such as apostleship, bishopric, eldership, pastorate, and presbytery (more leadership).
Mere Leadership
“All churches are directed and instructed by leaders” (71). The New Testament addresses “mere leadership” with several instructions:
- “Congregational members are exhorted to consider and copy their leaders” (71; Heb 13:7).
- “[M]embers are directed toward a respectful submission” (72; Heb 13:17; 1 Thess 5:12–13).
- Leaders are to be servants (72). “Mere leadership, of the type that Jesus wills and models, is actually mere servanthood. Thus, while possessing the (delegated) authority that is required for them to exercise their task, leaders are to use their authority for building up the church according to the will of God and never mistreating or exploiting those under their care” (72).
More Leadership
Allison addresses three types of leadership found in most churches that generally follow New Testament instructions: (1) apostleship, (2) bishopric, eldership, pastorate, and presbytery, and (3) diaconate. He also addresses (4) trustees and directors, which are not found in the New Testament.
Apostleship
“The office of apostleship was by divine design a temporary position of authority in the early church” (73). The two qualifications to be an apostle were (1) “called to be with Jesus from the outset of his ministry” (73; Mark 3:13–15), and (2) “an eyewitness of (at least) one of his postresurrection appearances” (73; Acts 1:21-22). Allison claims that the office of apostle was restricted to the big 12 and the apostle Paul (73–74); thus, once they died, the office ceased to exist and there are no more apostles.
Allison fails, however, to address the many churches and Christians around the world who believe that apostles of Christ are still called and exist today. In a section on “More Leadership” that addresses various church and denominational beliefs, this is a glaring omission.
Further, Allison fails to mention “apostles of the church” who are distinguished from apostles of Christ (see the following passages: 2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25; Acts 14:14; 1 Cor 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Pet 3:2. Most of these passages are best read in the Greek because the English translations do not transliterate ἀπόστολος as “apostle,” but translate it as “messenger,” obscuring and hiding the fact that there are “apostles of the church”).
Bishopric, Eldership, Pastorate, or Presbytery
Allison understands elders, presbyters (which is the same as “elder,” just transliterated, not translated), bishops, overseers, and pastors/shepherds as all referring to the same office (75; see Acts 20:17–35; 1 Tim 3:1–2; 5:17; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Pet 5:1–4). Allison concludes: “So ‘pastor’ = ‘elder’ = ‘bishop’ = ‘overseer’ = ‘presbyter’” (75). Frustratingly, Allison does not choose a single term while discussing leadership in this section, but randomly switches between all the titles.
Qualifications of an Elder from 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9:
- Call. “Overseers are to be called by God, and such a call is sensed by an aspiration or desire to be a leader (1 Tim. 3:1)” (76).
- Character. “Paul generalizes this qualification by saying that they ‘must be above reproach’ (1 Tim. 3:2). Simply put, if a charge is brought against an elder, the charge must fail” (77).
- Competencies. Elders “must be proficient in three areas: hospitality, teaching, and leadership” (78). They must also be mature and have a good reputation (80).
- Chemistry. “Though the term Chemistry does not appear in these lists of qualifications for the office of leadership, the requirement of unity among bishops is essential” (81). This quote is a good example of flip-flopping between terms for leader.
- Commission. “Leaders must be affirmed by the church and publicly recognized as its officers” (81).
Responsibilities of an Elder from 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9:
- Teaching or “communicating sound doctrine” (74, 82).
- Leading or “providing overall direction” (74, 83).
- Praying, “especially for the sick” (74, 83–84).
- Shepherding or “guiding, nourishing, and protecting the church” (74, 84–85).
Diaconate
“The second permanent office of the church is one of service and is called the diaconate” (85). Deacons are leading servants (88). They have similar character qualifications as elders, but they do not teach (88). Scripture does not set forth a list of diaconal responsibilities (89), but based on passages like Acts 6:1–7 Allison concludes that “deacons are responsible for leading the other, non-elder-level ministries of the church” (90).
Other Leadership Structures
“Offices not named in Scripture but nonetheless practical and common include those of trustees and directors” (90).
Critique of Chapter
Allison failed to treat the papacy, priests, and other common leadership positions outside congregational and Presbyterian churches and local autonomous churches. For instance, he completely ignored Roman Catholicism and its leadership. This was surprising since Roman Catholicism was a major focus of the previous chapter.
Chapter 5: The Government of the Church
This chapter addresses the government of the church, focusing first on what all churches believe and practice about government/polity (mere government) and then on the traditional polities of episcopalianism, presbyterianism, and congregationalism (more government).
Mere Government
“[T]he early church’s government was structured with Christ as head of the church; the apostles as (temporary) authoritative rulers commissioned by Christ; bishops, elders, pastors, overseers, or presbyters as leaders of local churches; deacons as servants in local churches; and members as affirming collaborators” (96–97).
More Government
Episcopalianism
“Episcopalianism is government by an episkopos (Gk.), or ‘bishop,’ in whom ultimate authority resides” (97). In Anglican and Methodist denominations, the following three-tiered polity with varying degrees of authority exists (97):
| Bishop | Ultimate Authority |
| Presbyters/Priests | Second-Order Authority |
| Deacons | Supporting Service |
Note: Allison never justifies calling presbyters as “priests,” he simply does it. Priests were never mentioned in the previous chapter.
Allison believes the episcopal government structure has “biblical ‘seeds’” (98). He also states that it has the support of church history, which went to an episcopal structure by the early second century (98).
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism “is government by presbyteroi (Gk.), or ‘elders’/’presbyters,’ as representatives of the church” (99). Presbyterianism is two-tiered, with elders/presbyters and deacons.
| Elders/Presbyters | Representative Authority |
| Deacons | Supportive Service |
Presbyterian polity makes a distinction between two types of elders: teaching elders and ruling elders (99; 1 Tim 5:17). Teaching elders are seminary trained and ordained, ruling elders are not (99).
“It is at the local church level that one teaching elder (there are often more than one) and a plurality of ruling elders exercise their roles in ministry. This official leadership body is called a session (Presbyterianism) or consistory (Reformed)” (100).
Congregationalism
Congregationalism “is government by the local congregation, in whose members ultimate authority resides under Christ” (101). Each church is autonomous except for Christ who is above it (101).
Other Types of Government
Allison recognizes that there are other types of church government, but he has presented the main ones (102–04). He concludes the chapter with these apt words:
“in churches of all stripes people can find oneness, holiness, catholicity, apostolicity, gospel preaching, celebration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and genuine Christians exhibiting faith, hope and love. Polity is not the essence of the church, but it can contribute to the well-being of the church” (104).
Chapter 6: The Ordinances or Sacraments of the Church
This chapter addresses the ordinances (or “sacraments”) of the church, focusing first on what all churches believe about and practice in relation to baptism and Communion (mere ordinances) and then on specific beliefs about baptism and Communion (more ordinances).
Definitions:
- Sacrament: “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace” (111). When a person receives a sacrament like baptism or Communion, that person “becomes a recipient of divine grace,” meaning “they receive the grace of God” (111).
- Ordinance: the rites of baptism and Communion “were ordained, or instituted, by Christ himself” (111).
Mere Ordinances or Sacraments
“All churches administer the rites [of baptism and Communion] that Jesus ordained for them” (105).
Mere Baptism
There are four commonalities concerning baptism about which all churches agree (112):
- Manner: baptism is administered only once.
- Nature: participants are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Element: participants are baptized with (or into) water.
- Timing: baptism is an initiatory rite done once before a person can take the Lord’s Supper.
Mere Communion
There are three commonalities concerning Communion about which all churches agree (117–18):
- Regularity: all churches administer Communion on a regular basis. The regularity changes from church to church (i.e., weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.).
- Elements: bread and the fruit of the vine (wine or grape juice).
- Timing: “Communion is the ongoing rite that can be received only after one has been baptized” (118).
More Ordinances or Sacraments
More Baptism
There are two types of baptism:
- Paedobaptism (infant baptism). “By the fifth century, infant baptism became the official practice of the church” (113). For Roman Catholics, baptism infuses them with grace and “thereby begins the lifelong process of transforming the character of the Catholic faithful. Cooperating with this grace, Catholics become progressively more and more justified and, engaging in good works, are enabled to merit eternal life” (113). For Reformed Churches, “baptism is a means of grace by which God offers a promise to its recipients: they will thereby become partakers of the salvation of which baptism is the divinely appointed sign and seal” (114).
- Credobaptism. Baptism is administered only to those who can offer a credible profession of faith (117).
More Communion
In terms of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, various churches and denominations hold several views:
- Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic position. “During the administration of the sacrament of the Eucharist, the bread is transubstantiated—or changed—into the body of Christ, and the wine into the blood of Christ, by the power of God” (119).
- Consubstantiation. Consubstantiation (or sacramental union) is the Lutheran view. “[D]uring the administration of the sacrament, Christ is truly present in both his deity and humanity, ‘in, with, and under’ the substance of the bread and wine. Because Christ’s body is everywhere present, and in accordance with his words of institution . . . God brings about the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper” (120).
- Memorialism. Memorialism is the view of many nonsacramentalist churches, such as Baptists. “[T]he Lord’ Supper is a memorial celebration by which the church remembers what Christ did on the cross to accomplish salvation” (121).
- Spiritual Presence. Spiritual presence is the view of many Reformed Protestant churches, such as Presbyterian. In this view, the Lord’s Supper renders what it symbolizes. “By his spiritual presence, Christ presents himself and his saving benefits through these means of grace. How Christ can be located in heaven and spiritually present in the Lord’s Supper is ultimately a mystery” (121).
Chapter 7: The Ministries of the Church
This chapter addresses the ministries of the church, focusing first on what all churches believe about ministries of the church and how they practice those ministries (mere ministries) and then on women in ministry and ‘miraculous’ gifts (more ministries).
Mere Ministries
Allison understands the purpose of the church in terms of three ministries: (1) ministry to God, (2) ministry to believers, and (3) ministry to the world (124).
- Ministry to God is the worship of Him (124).
- Ministry to believers is the nurture of believers and the upbuilding of them to maturity in the faith (125).
- Ministry to the world is the proclamation of the gospel to unbelievers and “living as stellar examples of Christlikeness so that they embrace Christ and become incorporated into the church” (125).
To guide and empower the church for its engagement in the above three ministries, the Holy Spirit provides gifts to the church and individual believers. The spiritual gifts (and gifted people) listed in Scripture are (128–29):
- apostles
- prophets and prophecy
- teachers, teaching, and shepherd-teachers
- evangelists
- words of wisdom
- words of knowledge
- exhortation
- leading and administration
- faith
- service and helping
- giving
- acts of mercy
- gifts of healing
- miracles and working of miracles
- distinguishing of spirits
- speaking in tongues
- interpretation of tongues
- craftmanship
- artistic abilities and creativity
- marriage and its counterpart, singleness
“[T]he majority of the gifts just itemized form a consensus list, and all churches agree that the Spirit continues to allocate the spiritual gifts of teaching, evangelism, exhortation, leading, faith, helps, distinguishing of spirits, giving, and mercy” (129).
More Ministries
Allison first focuses on the role of women in ministry. Specifically, whether or not women can be elders and deacons. Before explaining the two positions, he states that the church in all eras and all cultures has “with rare exception” always chosen only qualified men to be elders/pastors (131).
The position that allows women to be elders is called egalitarianism, meaning “men and woman are equal to one another in nature, relationships, and role” (135, emphasis added). They wrongly use Galatians 3:26–28 to justify their position. The position that denies women to be elders is called complementarianism, meaning “men and women are complementary or correspond to one another, filling out and completing one another” (132). This position takes 1 Timothy 2:11–14 at face value. In a rare move by Allision, he gives his opinion that complementarianism is the stronger position and the one to which he adheres (138).
In contrast to elders, Allison believes women can be deacons. In 1 Timothy 3:11, Paul’s instructions to “wives” can legitimately be translated “women” and makes more sense in context (143–44).
Second, Allison focuses on whether or not the so-called ‘miraculous’ spiritual gifts continue to exist in the modern era. The two positions are:
- Continuationism. “Continuationism is the view that all spiritual gifts, including ‘sign’ or ‘miraculous’ gifts, continue to be distributed by the Holy Spirit and thus operate in the church today” (146–47). Allision lists many reasons in support of this position. One of the best reasons is that the Bible never says these gifts have ceased and the New Testament reads as if they will continue until Jesus returns (147–49).
- Cessationism. Cessationism is the position that “the ‘sign’ or ‘miraculous’ gifts have terminated: the Holy Spirit has ceased to dispense them, and thus they no longer operate today” (149).
Chapter 8: The Future of the Church
This chapter addresses the future of the church, focusing first on what all churches believe about and practice in relation to the future of the church (mere future) and then on the different millennial views (more future).
Mere Future
“All churches look forward to events at the end of this age and the subsequent glorious future of the church. These events are the return of Christ, the tribulation and millennium (whether that is a present or a future reality), the bodily resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, the eternal blessing of the righteous and the eternal judgment of the wicked, and the eternal state of the new heaven and new earth” (154).
More Future
This section on more future treats the various interpretations of the millennium (Revelation 20:1–6). Personally, I find this unnecessary in an introduction to ecclesiology.
- Amillennialism. The millennium is the present age in which the church exists from Jesus’ first coming to his second coming; thus, the millennium is not future (159).
- Postmillennialism. The millennium is an age of peace and prosperity where most of the world will believe in Jesus. Jesus will return after the millennium (160).
- Historic Premillennialism. Christ’s second coming will occur before the millennium, which is a one-thousand-year reign of Jesus on earth. The church will reign with Jesus. Historic Premillennialism believes the church will be present during the tribulation (161). Allison fails to mention that the church will not be subject to Jesus’ judgments, but will instead suffer persecution during this period.
- Dispensational Premillennialism. This position is similar to Historic Premillennialism in that Christ’s second coming will occur before the millennium. Unlike Historic Premillennialism, the church will not be present on the earth during the tribulation because Jesus would have raptured it into heaven first (162). Allison is factually wrong when he says “this view . . . holds that the church in some form will reign with Christ during the millennial period on earth” (162). This is wrong! Both forms of Dispensational Premillennialism (classical and progressive) state that only blood-Israel will reign with Jesus during the millennium, while the church remains in heaven until the millennium is over. Further, classic dispensationalism states that blood-Israel and the church are two different peoples of God who never unite (there will always be two different peoples of God), while progressive dispensationalism states that blood-Israel only unites with the church after the millennium. Thus, the church never reigns with Jesus in any way during the millennium according to dispensational theology (something Allison should be aware of because he is a theology professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).