Bible Overview encompasses all of our Bible-related articles in one section. Bible Characters "Did You Know" goes into detail about a Bible character we are studying either from that book in the Bible or from one of many stories in the Bible.

This month’s “Did You Know” section focuses on Millennium…

Did you know...

• Revelation 20:4 states, “They will come to life and reign with Christ a thousand years.” (Most scholars think “they” refers to the saints who have already been killed, the righteous dead.)
• Thoughts about the millennium have varied over the years.
• The term “millennium” is derived from a Latin word, mille, meaning “thousand” and annus meaning “year.” Together, “millennium” means “a thousand years”.
• Scholarly discussion on the millennium falls into three basic schools of thought: premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism.
• Premillennialism falls into two categories: Historical Premillennialism and Dispensational Premillennialism.
  • Historical premillennialism was popular for about three centuries after Christ.
  • Its adherents included Barnabas, Papias, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and others.
  • They believed that the Antichrist would appear, followed by seven years of tribulation. The Rapture would follow. After all this, Christ would come to earth to rule for 1000 years.
  • This 1000-year rule would be a time of order and peace. All evil would be eliminated.
  • After 1000 years, all people would be judged. Those whose names were written in the book of life would spend eternity in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
  • Those whose names weren’t written in the book would suffer eternal damnation.
  • This means that Christ would physically rule on earth with the “saints” for 1000 years.
  • This is not part of church doctrine and was determined to be heresy by the fourth century.
  • It had been opposed by Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, and Augustine.
  • Dispensational premillennialism was revived in the mid-1800s.
  • Its popularity continues and has been embraced by the Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of God, Seventh-day Adventists and many Evangelical Fundamentalist Christians.
  • It has also been the subject of many books, including the Left Behind series.
  • The primary teaching is that there will be marked turbulence throughout the world; the Antichrist will appear only to be destroyed by the coming of Christ.
  • Christ and his believers will reign for 1000 years, which will be followed by another brief stint with Satan, at which point he will be defeated.
  • Satan and his followers will suffer eternal punishment.
  • The saints will have eternal life.
  • The primary argument against this position is that it requires a very materialistic view of Christ’s reign.
  • Nonetheless, its followers are on the lookout for signs of the tribulation, which would be an indication that Christ would be arriving soon.
  • In other words, things have to get much worse before they get better.
• Amillennialism has also been present from early on.
  • Its proponents include Origen, Eusebius, Jerome and Augustine – basically all those who opposed premillennialism.
  • These scholars were more interested in an allegorical, rather than a literal, reading of Biblical texts.
  • These scholars did not take the words of the apocalypse literally.
  • They believed that Christ is already in the world, in a world that is comprised of both evil and good.
  • Christ now sits on the throne of David; the kingdom of heaven is embodied in the Church.
  • At some future point, Christ will return to the heavens and the saints will follow (the Rapture).
  • Those who are not redeemed will experience eternal punishment.
  • Since proponents do not believe in a literal rendering of 1000 years, they feel that we are already living in the “millennium” and in the period of tribulation simultaneously.
  • The events described in Revelation are not meant to be taken literally and are only symbolic. So the Antichrist, among other things, is not a real person.
  • Amillennialism involves a more spiritualized view of the world.
  • Most Roman Catholics and Protestant reformers accept these teachings, though they do not use “Rapture” terminology.
  • They do not believe that Scripture teaches a physical reigning of Christ, nor will it be in an actual political kingdom.
  • This view became more popular once Christianity was the legal religion.
• Postmillennialism is the most modern understanding of millennium. This became popular during the 19th century.
  • This is the most optimistic view of the end of time.
  • The idea here is that the kingdom of God is already present -- through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.
  • As the world continues to be Christianized, the forces of Satan will gradually erode, leading to his ultimate defeat.
  • In short, good will triumph over evil.
  • The bottom line is that the preaching of the gospel will be successful. Things will get better and better as time goes by.
  • More and more people will convert to Christianity.
  • Ultimately, the world will evolve into a place where righteousness and peace are the norm. This will exist for an indefinite period of time. Then Jesus will return, raise the dead, and carry out the final judgment.
  • This will be the end of history.
  • The period of righteousness and peace has sometimes been referred to as “The Golden Age,” that time when Christians will prosper and dominate.
  • There is no terminology about the Rapture or a specific time of tribulation.
  • Most of these adherents think the 1000 years is merely a figurative term.
  • The moment at the end of time is much less dramatic than the events proposed by the premillennialists.
  • The postmillennialists also believe that many of the prophecies in Revelation were fulfilled in the time John was writing.
  • Several reformed churches have embraced the postmillennial position.

Bibliography

Aune, David, E. “Revelation.” Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas, TX: Word Books,      1997.

Barclay, William. “Revelation.” Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster      Press. 1975.

Boring, M. Eugene. “Revelation.” Interpretation. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.      1989.

Gaebelein, Frank. “Revelation.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI:      Zondervan Publishing. 1985.

Keck, Leander. “Revelation.” New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon      Press. 1995.

Osborne, Grant. “Revelation.” Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New      Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 2002