초기 한국교회의 종말론 신학

A Study on Early Korean Church Eschatology

This article aims to study the main reason for the eschatological confusion in Korean Christianity. The results of the study point to the fruits of wrong eschatology in the present church as being rooted in the wrong theology of early missionaries in Korea and the subsequent successful dissemination of this confusion due to the grim situation of the early church in Korea. For the purposes of this study the early church in Korea will be limited to and defined as the church in the period from 1885 when missionaries Underwood and Appenzeller came to Korea with a theological background based on Calvinism up to 1945 when the church and country was freed from the Japanese. Consequently many of the early missionaries to Korea who adhered to dispensational eschatology from their country came to Korea. In those days, Calvinists and Dispensationalists joined in the name of fundamentalism against liberal theology in the United States. Most Calvinists recognized and accepted three kinds of eschatological views, premillennialism, postmillennialism and amillennialism. As such Calvinists were theologically opposed to dispensational eschatology but under the influence of Moody revival many missionaries in Korea came to embrace dispensationalism. And given the particular dark political and social situation the Church in Korea under Japanese colonial the mixed up theological views of the missionaries were readily accepted and disseminated. Though astute theologians like Korean theological professor Park, Hyeong-ryong fought against dispensationalism in connection with Calvinistic views nevertheless the confused theological perspectives of the missionaries quickly gathered steam with preachers in the pulpit and was passed on to many key church leaders, such as Gil, Seon-ju who was Korea’s representative preacher. This confused eschatological view rapidly spread to Korean churches and also spread to native Korean heretical groups. As famous foreign heresies like the Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses from America also joined in the eschatological confusion it fostered the rise and increase of many native heretical groups. In particular the mysticism of Lee, Yong-do and ‘Return Theory’ of Kim, Baek-moon influenced other Korean heresies. Ansanghong Jeunginhoe came from the Adventists. The Unification Church and Jeondogwan aros from the ‘Return theory’ of Kim. Shincheonji in the temple of the tabernacle of Lee, Man-hee is from the heretical Jeondogwan. So though one of the theological roots of early missionaries has resulted in the fruit of revival of Korea Church on the other hand the negative results have lead to the increase of heresies in Korea.