The Basis of the Premillennial Faith

by Charles C. Ryrie

Although premillennialism continues to be popular today, it is by no means a new doctrine. Rather, because of its solid foundation in Biblical truth, premillennialism has been a prominent system of interpretation throughout church history. Dr. Ryrie begins this book by introducing systems of interpretation and their vital importance in studying prophecy. He then proceeds to trace how premillennialism has its basis in history, hermeneutics, the Abrahamic covenant, Davidic covenant, new covenant, ecclesiology, and eschatology. Whether you are new to premillennialist teaching, or whether you are interested in a more systematic understanding of its basis in Scripture, the contents of this book will clarify, instruct, and inspire.

Genres: Theology, Christian

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Charles Caldwell Ryrie (born 1925) was a Christian writer and theologian. He graduated from Haverford College (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., Th.D.) and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (Ph.D.). For many years he served as professor of systematic theology and dean of doctoral studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and as president and professor at Philadelphia College of Bible, now Philadelphia Biblical University. He was a premillennial dispensationalist, though irenic in his approach. He was also the editor of the popular Ryrie Study Bible.

Reviews

[Christopher Humphrey]

“The Basis of the Premillenial Faith” by Charles Ryrie is a basic, easy to read systematic explanation of Premillenialism in general and dispensational premillenialism, in particular. Ryrie also casts a broad net also to include historic premillenialism is his argumentation.

This would be an excellent volume for the student of Scripture who is trying to understand the primary points of departure between Premillenialism and Amillenialism. Although at times the arguments are a bit technical, someone who is willing to work through the issues will be rewarded with greater understanding of the issues involved by reading this book.

This is a dated volume at this point, and so Ryrie does not interact with the progressive dispensational form of Premillenialism, and yet there is tremendous value in this book, as Ryrie is a careful thinker and a methodical teacher. The way Ryrie goes about contrasting his position with Amillenialists is thoroughly helpful. Although Premillenialism has a lot to say as a system vis a vis Eschatology, this is not primarily an eschatology book.

I found Rylie’s explanation of the various positions on the New Covenant especially enlightening, but I was disappointed by Ryrie arguments in favor of a hard distinction between “the Kingdom of God” and “the Kingdom of Heaven” as it seems that such a distinction is no longer, if ever it was, defensible. But that is a small stain on an otherwise helpful volume. Happy reading!

[Caroline Z]

I enjoyed this book. I agree with much of what it says and it helped to clarify my thinking on how premillennialism works itself out as a whole interpretive system.

I am little uncomfortable, though, with the sense authority with which it is written. It talks a lot about being THE biblical system of interpretation, grounded in history and biblical truth, and based on the character of God. In some ways I agree with its claims, because I do believe the Bible is clear on certain things and that people over complicate things trying to interpret them differently. On the other hand, I also realize that there are some nuances to eschatology that are not as clear, and that sincere people do see different ways (not because of laziness, denying Scripture, faulty logic, etc). As someone who already agrees with the author on much of what he says, I was helped by this book. However, I am not sure how well this book would convince those of a different view, because the aggressive tone would likely turn them away.

[Ailee Pearce]

I think he did a decent job explaining his view. My disappointment was that a good portion of the content seemed to be jabs at amillennialism rather than just teaching the premillennial stance. It would have been understandable if the book was a response to amillennialism, but that would’ve meant he needed to adequately define the amillennial stance and then fully respond to why he disagreed with it. Instead he would give his understanding of a passage or doctrine, then insert a limited (and not fully fair) articulation of his understanding of the amillennialist’s view on the matter in a seemingly condescending way. I wish the book would’ve been one or the other - either delve more deeply into the content of premillennialism, or rebrand it to make it a response against amillennialism rather than trying to do both.

[WILLIAM J]

Thorough explanation of the topic

Classic explanation of a scriptural puzzle. Ryrie, interprets so many of those scriptures I did not understand before. My eyes (spiritual understanding) are opened. Praise the Lord!

[W. Austin]

Every Christian should learn how we are to interpret the Bible

[Marc Plazola]

Dr. Ryrie presents a convincing argument for the premillennial position. He presents a historical case for the church, from the apostolic and patristic eras, as having held to the position of premillennialism. He presents a hermeneutical case that, when interpreting Scripture literally, the only position one can arrive to is premillennialism. Essentially, the investigation of both the Old and New Testaments is where the crux of his argument is grounded. Despite some intricate and minute details on interpretation that I disagree with, I find this book to be riveting and worth the read!

[Adam T. Calvert]

A short read with some helpful information regarding premillenialism. Some of the arguments seemed strained, and I was not overwhelmingly convinced in several sections. However there were also other sections where I think Ryrie made some very remarkable arguments for the Biblical theology of premillenialism. I especially enjoyed his chapter on the church. He brought out some very neat distinctions that the Bible itself makes.