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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 355

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 355

discussions in the Jewish academies of Babylonia and the
Galilee region from the 3rd through 6th centuries A.D.
The authors of the Talmud and its Jewish readership
understand the work, to a large extent, as the authoritative
transmission of the Old Testament’s oral tradition.

Tribulation: Left Behind uses this term to signify the intensified
persecution that will occur after the rapture and before
Christ’s 1000-year reign on earth. It will last for seven years.

Type: A person, event or institution in the Old Testament that
points to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The
fulfillment of a type (e.g., the temple) is called the antitype
(e.g., Christ’s promise to destroy the temple and raise it in
three days).

Zionism: A movement formerly that promoted, and now
supports, the reestablishment of the Jewish national state of
Israel.

Note

* In a September 27, 2002 memo to the Commission on Theol-
ogy and Church Relations, President Gerald Kieschnick reported
“a growing concern in our church about the impact that the popu-
lar Left Behind series of books is having on people today, including
members of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod.” After shar-
ing his conviction that “this is a legitimate concern and that some
attention needs to be given to the matter,” the President requested
that “the Commission review this topic and prepare a statement on
it that will be helpful to our people as they exercise discernment
when reading such literature.”

This document is the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations’ response to this assignment from the President. It is the
Commission’s hope that this report will help LCMS pastors, teach-
ers and professional church workers to familiarize themselves with
the theological presuppositions of the Left Behind literature, review
“what Lutherans believe” about the end times, and respond to ques-
tions from members, students, prospective members, and others
about this series. The document could easily be adapted for use in
a Bible class or discussion group for those who wish to investigate
this topic in a more in-depth manner. The Commission has attempt-
ed to prepare this document in a way that also makes it readable
and accessible to lay people (both Lutheran and non-Lutheran) who
are familiar with the Left Behind series and have questions about
its compatibility with the teachings of Scripture. For easy refer-
ence, a basic glossary listing some technical “end times” terms is
provided at the end of the document.

Appendix

DIAGRAMS OF
MILLENNIAL VIEWS

“Uttle Season!
Resurrection

Church Age Toei! oe

A. Dispensarionatt Tribulation
PREMILLENNIALISM

of
the Unjust/"Wh
Armageddon =

a

Church Age Satan’s

ti Se
B. Historic fe Seas urrecti

PREMILLENNIALISM Resurrection the Unsy

Church Age

C. POSTMILLENNIALISM

D. AMILLENNIALISM

This diagram of millennial views is reprinted from the CTCR’s 1989
report, The End Times: A Study on Eschatology and Millennialism (p 43). The
Lutheran understanding of the “End Times” is presented in item D. above,
titled “Amillennialism.”

2007 Convention Workbook