In the previous post, the four major eschatological views were discussed. Now, let's talk about the millennium.

Now, before I begin talking about the millennium, some of you reading this may be confused as to what the millennium actually refers to. So, first things first, let's talk time. In a literal sense, the word 'millennium' means a period of a 1,000 years. When talking about increments or measures of time, a millennium builds upon smaller units of time. So, there's the minute (60 seconds), the hour (60 minutes), the day (24 hours), the month (30-31 days), the year (12 months), the decade (10 years), and the century (100 years). At the very end of that list is the millennium (1,000 years or 10 centuries). So, the millennium is literally a thousand years. But, in discussing eschatology, there is another meaning to the word 'millennium'. 

In Christian eschatology, the millennium refers to the thousand-year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20. The millennium signifies the reign of Christ and what will happen soon after -- that is, the resurrection, final judgment, restoration, and eternity for humanity. Generally, Christians agree that Jesus will return again (hence 'Second Coming') to judge the world and restore it. However, the source of contention for those studying eschatology is understanding what the millennium really is. Some interpret the millennium to be a literal unit of time, while others see it as a referring to a long period of time. This all lies in the interpretation of Revelation 20 and the meaning of the term 'thousand years'. Such passages for debate include:

• "I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time" (vv. 1-3).

• "I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years" (vv. 4-6).

• "And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (vv. 7-10).

As with the different eschatological views, there are also a myriad of different opinions for the millennium. But, as I stated in the last post, it is important to remember three things: 1) Jesus is King, 2) there is persecution, and 3) Jesus will return. That being said, let's take a look at the three major views of the millennium: premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism.

1. Premillennialism 

The first view of the millennium is called premillennialism. As the name of the view indicates, premillennialism is the view that Jesus' Second Coming will occur before the thousand-year reign of Christ. For premillennialists, the 'thousand years' refers to an actual unit of time, 1,000 years. Interestingly enough, premillennialism has two sub-views, historic premillennialism and dispensational premillennialism.

• Historic Premillennialism: According to historic premillennialism, the nation of Israel was a forerunner for the Church. The Old Testament contains prophecies that are fulfilled in the Church, not Israel. The seven-year reign of the Antichrist (the world leader who opposes Christ) would be the saints' (Christians) rapture, Jesus' Second Coming, and the establishment of the 1,000-year reign. Following the 1,000 years is eternity. Historic premillennialism follows as such: Church Age > Great Tribulation (7 years) > Rapture + Jesus' Return > 1,000-year Reign > Final Judgement + Eternity. You can learn more about historic premillennialism here.

• Dispensational Premillennialism: According to dispensational premillennialism (commonly known as dispensationalism), the Church is the forerunner for the restored nation of Israel. Dispensationalists believe that the nation of Israel will be restored to its Old-Testament glory and that its inhabitants will worship God in a future temple. For dispensationalists, the Church and Israel are distinct in both function and role; Israel will serve God on Earth, while the Church will serve God in Heaven. Dispensationalism differs from historic premillennialism in that it holds there to be two resurrections. Dispensationalism follows as such: Church Age > Rapture + 1st Resurrection (righteous dead) > Great Tribulation (7 years) > 2nd Resurrection (OT believers + tribulation saints) > 1,000-year Reign > Final Judgement + Eternity. You can learn more about dispensationalism here.

As a strength, premillennialism scores high on biblical literalism. Premillennialists hold a very literal and straightforward interpretation of Scripture; how it is written is exactly how it will happen. Premillennialism was a view held by some of the early Church fathers and continued to grow in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Premillennialists derive their support from a literal interpretation of the text, which became important in the midst of 20th-century theological liberalism.

However, premillennialism has a fundamental problem. Because premillennialists hold a literal view of Scripture, they also view the reign of Christ to be a literal 1,000 years. While this is a noble attempt in biblical literalism, it fails to take into account the hyperbolic nature of language and the rest of Scripture. In Revelation, John uses the Greek word chilioi (χίλιοι), which is translated to mean a thousand. Now, chilioi appears in the New Testament a total of eleven times, including in 2 Peter. There, Peter writes: "But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8, WEB). Now, using common sense, is Peter talking of a literal thousand years from the date of his writing? Chances are, no. Here, Peter is using a symbolic measurement of time to stress a point -- that God is patient with His return. And, David writes in Psalm 84: "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalm 84:10, WEB). Is David referring to a literal thousand days? Again, no. David is using a figure of speech to convey his joy in the presence of God; he would rather spend one day in God's presence than a long time anywhere else. In addition to blanketed literalism, premillennialism suffers from having a distorted understanding of the Church -- especially dispensationalism. While it is valiant to have hope for a redeemed Israel, dispensationalism makes Israel the primary focus. This not only undermines the Church, but also undermines Jesus and His work (cf. Hebrews 9:11).

2. Amillennialism

The second view of the millennium is amillennialism. This view holds that the reign of Christ is a symbolic thousand years, with John using the word 'thousand' to refer to a long period of time. An amillennial believes that this reign was established after Jesus' resurrection and continues in partial completion as the Church. Eventually, the Kingdom of God will be completely here with the Second Coming and all will be made right. This here-and-not-yet approach to the Kingdom of God is called inaugurated eschatology or inaugurated millennialism, with Christ both starting and finishing the work of the Kingdom. For an amillennial, the reign of Christ is the present age. Once the present age ends, then the events of the last days (i.e., rampant persecution, decline of morals, etc.) will occur. Following this short time period of intense persecution, Jesus will return to judge and destroy evil, thus setting everything right. You can learn more about amillennialism here and here.

• Strengths: Amillenials possess a strong understanding of the Kingdom of God. Unlike dispensationalism, amillennialism views the Church as the fulfillment of Israel and thus is the Kingdom of God. Amillenials also understand biblical context and genre, which controls how much one takes a passage or term literally. Amillenials argue that the millennium is a figurative thousand years because of Revelation's apocalyptic language, which makes it hard to take figures and numbers literally.

• Weakness: Though an amillennial acknowledges future hope in Christ and His return, they will also admit that persecution will increase as the Gospel spreads. While this certainly a biblical perspective, it can result in what is called 'newspaper eschatology' -- that is, reading into current events and news as if they are biblical fulfillments. Simply, a belief that the Church is in the last days may actually be entirely based upon personal perspective on moral decline. As a result, an amillennial might develop a more pessimistic outlook on the future.

3. Postmillennialism

The third and final view of the millennium is postmillennialism. This view is similar to amillennialism, but with two exceptions. First, postmillennialism hold general optimism for the future. Whereas amillennials believe that things will get worse toward the end of the reign, postmillennials have hope that the evil seen in the world will be eventually destroyed. Second, postmillennials believe that human nature will change in response to the Gospel. Whereas amillennials believe the fallen nature of mankind as fundamentally unchangeable, postmillennials view it as changable. The more the Gospel is preached, the less mankind will be inclined to do evil. You can learn more about postmillennialism here and here.

• Strengths: Just like amillenials, postmillennials also possess a strong understanding of the Kingdom of God. And, postmillennials have more hope and optimism for the future than the other two views of the millennium.

• Weakness: Postmillennialism, if left unchecked, can result in unbridled optimism and naiveté of the future. 

In the next post, I will provide a brief overview of Revelation and will also show which eschatological and millennial views best correspond with the Bible.