Prophecy and Covenant Theology

There have always been debates about prophecy, even among people holding the same millennial views. I recently noted in an article that Spurgeon went from postmil to premil. Yet he strongly discouraged prophetic debating. Michael Reeves (Spurgeon and the Christian Life) notes that:

His concern was that the person of Christ - not the millennium or the date of Christ's return - should be central to the Christian's hope.

I wonder what he'd say to all of us prophecy nuts now. Yes, I can imagine the responses to Spurgeon's concern. But I think he makes a good point.

Some amil-postmil Covenant Theologians regarded premillennialism with suspicion. This comes out in various comments in Andrew Bonar's Diary and Life. Bonar expressed concern that his brother Horatius was being set aside from positions because of his millennial view and interest in prophecy.

These days, the Banner of Truth has all of premillennialist J. C. Ryle's books, except anything on prophecy. Some things haven't changed. I also found Waldron's reaction to Barry Horner's book Future Israel both interesting and over the top. Horner noted:

There have been many blog responses such as from Dr. Sam Waldron, Professor of Systematic Theology at Midwest Center for Theological Studies. Staunchly Reformed Baptist and amillennial, he commented: “I had to pray for grace and patience not to fire it across the room...."

You can read Barry Horner's article HERE