[Nicodemus1968]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Just for the sake of the thread topic, the above is NOT "Light Doctrine" as it has been historically known among Pentecostals. Maybe that's what people nowadays call it, but that ain't what it actually was.

Light Doctrine was the belief that God revealed different amounts of truth in different, successive "revivals" or restorations, after a period of darkness due to early medieval apostasy. God restored justification by faith via Martin Luther, believer's baptism via the Anabaptists and Baptists, sanctification via Wesley, divine healing and crisis sanctification via the Holiness Movement (Phoebe Palmer et al), the Pentecostal baptism via Azusa Street, Oneness and Jesus Name baptism via Arroyo Seco, Finished Work sanctification via William Durham, etc.

In each phase of restoration, "Light" (truth) was made available to people seeking God. Each phase built on the ones that came previously. Obviously, in each phase, folks didn't have the truths that came LATER after their time. So the ones who lived in each restoration phase will be judged according to whether or not they accepted and walked faithfully in the Light GIVEN TO THEIR GENERATION. Early Oneness believers felt they were in a period where more Light was being given. Thus they were in a TRANSITION period. So folks who at that time had not accepted the new Light were considered to be in the learning process, with the warning that if they do not eventually get on board with the new Light they would wind up likely lost for rejecting God's Truth. Or, sometimes an allowance was made on the basis "these are old timers walking in yesterday's revelation, so the new Light is not for them or their generation."

Light doctrine was NOT "God will judge people by whatever truths they believed in with no regard for truths they did NOT believe in." THAT approach essentially means all non Christians are saved as long as they are sincere! Real "Light Doctrine" for the most part stipulates that once a Truth is established, anybody intentionally refusing to move forward is lost.

And yes, Light Doctrine is an erroneous attempt to account for a perceived lack of chronological continuity between the NT and the present.

It is also the basis for Sowderism, Branhamism, Protestant Evangelicalism, Protestant charismatic belief, and some other isms.

That's interesting.