Copyright © 2024 Michael A. Brown
‘They… reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.’ (Rev. 20:4)
In chapter 8, I explained that many Jews in Old Testament times believed in a one-stage coming of the Messiah. By this, they meant that when he came, he would intervene powerfully and decisively in the issues of the time. He would save Israel from their enemies, destroy all evil powers in this world, and establish his kingdom. This would then usher in the eternal age to come. So, essentially, they saw the coming of the kingdom of God as a future concept. This view is summed up in Figure 24.1 below:
Figure 24.1 The one-stage coming of
the Messiah
However, in the intertestamental period preceding Christ’s first coming, a more developed view began to emerge as Jewish rabbis acknowledged the place of a literal reign of the Messiah on earth, a period which they called the ‘Days of Messiah.’ This belief in a literal earthly reign of the Messiah was therefore a Jewish concept, and it was based on the Scriptures of the Old Testament, rather than being a later innovation of Christians. This temporary messianic kingdom would last for one thousand years, and so technically it is called a ‘millennial reign.’[1] It would begin after Messiah’s advent and would last until the final judgement, so it was seen as intervening between the present age and the eternal age to come. This is summed up in Figure 24.2 below:
Figure
24.2 The temporary earthly reign of the Messiah
If we now synthesise into this diagram the fact that Christ the Messiah comes twice, as we as Christians know, then we get the following scenario in Figure 24.3:
Figure
24.3 The dual coming of Messiah and his temporary earthly reign
The discerning reader will no doubt
recognise in this diagram a basic outline of Christian premillennial
thought. This is dealt with later
on in this chapter. So the
historical root of Christian premillennial thought lies in the Jewish belief of
a temporary earthly messianic kingdom subsequent to Messiah’s advent.
What
did the apostles teach about the millennial reign of Messiah?
So
the belief in an earthly millennial reign of the Messiah is based on passages
in the Old Testament, and it is an essentially Jewish concept. Some of the many verses which support this
are laid out later on in this chapter.
Furthermore, when we look at the teaching of the apostles, we find that
they support this belief.
Many
commentators are of the opinion that the apostle Paul makes a reference to the
millennial reign of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:22-26:
‘For as in Adam all die, so in
Christ all will be made alive. But each
in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him. Then the end will come, when he
hands over the kingdom to the Father after he has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. For he must reign
until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.’
(1 Cor. 15:22-26)
Paul’s
use of the word epeita in v.23 (translated as ‘then’ in the NIV, and as
‘afterward’ in the AV) clearly indicates the historical gap in time between
Christ’s own resurrection in 33 AD and the coming of Christ for his bride in
the resurrection/rapture event. The
historical gap between these two events is the present Church Age, of course.
1.
Christ,
the firstfruits…
2.
…then
those who belong to him, when he comes (i.e. at the rapture).
This use of epeita in v.23
is then followed by the use of eita in v.24 (translated as ‘then’ in
both NIV and AV) suggesting that there is also a significant historical gap
between the rapture and the time when Christ hands over the kingdom to the
Father:
1.
Christ,
the firstfuits…
2.
…then
those who belong to him, when he comes (i.e. at the rapture)…
3.
…then
the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father (i.e. at
the end of his millennial reign).
The
purpose of this future earthly reign of Christ is for him to put all his
enemies under his feet, by destroying all dominion, authority and power. This will take place during his
millennial reign. The last enemy
that will be destroyed is death, and this will happen ultimately through the
general resurrection and day of judgement at ‘the end’ (v.24), i.e. at the end
of the millennial reign.
However,
it was to the apostle John that the clearest revelation of the millennial reign
of Christ was given. The phrase ‘a/the
thousand years’ is repeated no less than six times in Revelation 20:1-10:
‘…and bound him for a thousand
years… until the thousand years were ended… they came to life and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were ended… they will be priests
of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are over…’
(Rev. 20:2-3,4-6,7 underlining my own for emphasis)
The
description of this period of a thousand years follows on directly from the
events of the Second Advent of Christ (Rev. 19:11-21), and it is followed by
the final judgement at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). The fact that both the Second Advent and the
final judgment are generally interpreted as literal events by commentators, suggests
that the event which is sandwiched between them, the millennial reign of
Christ, should also be interpreted literally.
Furthermore,
the viewpoint, held by some, that the belief in a literal, earthly reign
of Christ for a thousand years depends only on this particular passage in the
New Testament, is wrong. As we
have seen, belief in a millennial reign was current in pre-Christian Jewish
teaching, and it is based on many verses in the Old Testament. So this passage in Revelation 20:1-7
simply affirms to Christians that this belief in a millennial reign of the
Messiah is true. And it is
affirmed by being emphasised no less than six times!
One
of the forms of belief in the millennial reign of Christ is called ‘chiliasm.’[2] This is the belief that the chronological
history of the world is modelled on the six days of creation which were
followed by a day of rest. Each ‘day’
stands for a thousand years. This belief
was held by some Jews prior to Christ’s first coming and it is not therefore a
specifically Christian belief. It is
based on the words of Psalm 90:4 ‘For a thousand years in your sight are
like a day that has just gone by…’
So the seven days of creation parallel the 7,000-year history of the
world. Human history will continue for
6,000 years and will then enjoy a ‘sabbath rest’ for 1,000 years in Christ’s
millennial kingdom. The ‘eighth day’
therefore corresponds to the future new creation after the millennium (cf. Lev.
23:39).
Many
believers in the early Church held to this chiliastic belief, and it is not
rare to find believers even today who believe it. As well as the words of Psalm 90:4, they also
base their belief on the apostle Peter’s similar words in 2 Peter 3:8 ‘With
the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.’
Belief
in a millennial reign among the early Church Fathers
Belief
in a literal 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ was widespread among the
early Church Fathers. They believed that
the Scriptures teach that there will be a literal, future reign of Christ on
earth in fulfilment of the Old Testament promises of the messianic
kingdom.
For
example, Justin Martyr (c100 – c165 AD) believed that there would be a literal
millennial kingdom established in Jerusalem, and that the general resurrection
and day of judgment would happen after these one thousand years.
Both the writer of the Epistle
of Barnabas (c70 – 132 AD) and Irenaeus (c120/140 – c203 AD) held to the
doctrine of chiliasm:
‘For
in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be
concluded. And for this reason the
Scripture says: “Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their
adornment. And God rested upon the
seventh day from all His works.” This is
an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is
to come. For the day of the Lord is as a
thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident,
therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.’[3]
Hippolytus
(c170 – c235 AD) also believed in chiliasm.
He believed that Antichrist is an end-times prophetic antitype of
Antiochus Epiphanes, and that he will put to death the Two Witnesses, and then
reign for 3½ years. Hippolytus therefore
held to a literal end-times interpretation of the book of Revelation.
Victorinus
of Pettau (died c303 AD) similarly interpreted Revelation in a literal
sense. He believed that the 144,000 are
Jews who in the last days will be converted through the preaching of the Two
Witnesses, and also that the False Prophet will cause the image of Antichrist
to be set up in the temple at Jerusalem.
So again, he held to a literal end-times interpretation of the book of
Revelation. Notice that Victorinus,
writing well after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, understood the temple
of Revelation ch.11 to be a future third temple.[4]
The
two main views on the millennium today
Today
there are two main views on the millennium amongst Christians. These are called ‘amillennialism’ and
‘premillennialism.’
1. Amillennialism
Amillennialism is a logical outcome
and fruit of ‘replacement theology’ which we looked at briefly in chapter
14. After 70 AD and through the first
five centuries AD, the Church became predominantly Gentile and essentially
episcopalian in nature. As time
progressed, and particularly in the post-Nicene period after the changes
brought in under Constantine, theologians began to teach that Israel had been
replaced by the Church in the purposes of God.
From the time of Augustine onwards, this became the predominant belief
of the Church. This erroneous
belief is still very common even today.
In
time, the biblical Hebrew feasts were replaced by the Christian feasts of
Christmas and Easter, both of which have their origins in pagan solstice /
equinox feasts. The Sabbath was replaced
by Sunday as the day on which weekly church gatherings were held, and so
on. In fact, it is true to say that the
institutional Church eventually became one of the greatest persecutors of the
Jewish people over the last 2,000 years.
According
to replacement theology, the Old Testament promises of God are interpreted
‘spiritually,’ as though they only have to do with the Church, rather than with
literal Israel and the Jews to whom these promises were originally given.
In
consequence, amillennialism sees no significance or role for Israel in the
end-times. God’s promises to Abraham
concerning the land similarly have no significance. The return of the Jews to their ancient
homeland from 1948 onwards was simply an accident or conspiracy of
international politics, rather than being a fulfilment of God’s prophetic
purposes. And it interprets the book of
Revelation in such a way that Israel and the Jewish people play no part. So, for example, the 144,000 of the tribes of
Israel who are sealed in Revelation ch.7 are not actually Jews, they are
interpreted spiritually as representing the Church. Similarly, it interprets many other things in
Revelation, such as the Beast, in a purely symbolic way.
So,
because replacement theology sees no place for Israel in the end-times, it also
has no place for a future millennial reign of Christ on earth after the Second
Advent. In consequence, it developed a
theological system called ‘amillennialism’ which literally means ‘no
millennium.’ So the return of Christ at
the Second Advent is immediately followed by the final judgement at the Great
White Throne, and then the eternal state (Rev. 20:11 – 22:21). In fact, amillennialists see the
interadventual period (i.e. the Church Age, the period between the first and
second comings of Christ) as the millennium.
So they believe that we are in the millennium now: it is
an age during which Satan is bound and in which the Church will grow and
prosper worldwide through the preaching of the gospel.
Dwight Pentecost sums this up in
the following way:
‘All
prophecies concerning the kingdom are being fulfilled in the inter-advent
period spiritually by the church…
[Amillennialism’s] most general character is that of denial of a literal
reign of Christ upon the earth. Satan is
conceived as bound at the first coming of Christ. The present age between the first and second
comings is the fulfilment of the millennium.
It may be summed up in the idea that there will be no more millennium
than there is now, and that the eternal state immediately follows the second
coming of Christ.’[5]
One particular form of
amillennialism is called ‘postmillennialism,’ which emphasises the advance of
the kingdom of God in society through the gospel and the ministry of the
Church, and hopes for a period of great worldwide conversion to Christianity
before the return of Christ. However, as
chapter 14 shows, as we approach further into the end-times, things in the
world will be getting worse not better!
Postmillennialism has fallen out of favour in much of the Church today,
and so it does not have much of relevance to contribute to this discussion.
As
we have seen, amillennialism also conflates the rapture with the Second
Advent. So it sees the rapture as being
post-tribulation, i.e. it takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation and
is part of the Second Advent. This, of
course, means that Christians will have to go through the Great
Tribulation. Therefore, they will have
to face up to dealing with the mark of the Beast, and they will also have to
experience the pouring out of the end-time judgements and wrath of God on
earth.
Figure 24.4 below sums up this amillennial viewpoint:
Figure
24.4 The amillennial view of the millennium
The fundamental error in
amillennialism is that it means that God has broken his promises towards the
Jews. God does not keep his word. However, God does not indicate anywhere in
Scripture that he has broken his promise to Abraham regarding the land. In fact, he said that his promise with
Abraham would be an everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:3-8).
Furthermore, what many Gentiles often fail to see is that the new covenant in Christ was made with Israel (Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8:8-12). It was not made with the Gentile Church. When Gentiles believe in Christ, they are grafted into the olive tree of genuine faith, and thereby become partakers together with believing Jews in their covenant promises (Rom. 11:17-24). Their inheritance in Christ is not something which is separate from God’s promises to Israel. God has never abrogated any of his promises to Israel, or annulled any of his purposes towards them, in either the Old or New Testaments. Although Gentiles are partakers in the blessings of the new covenant, yet Israel has not been rejected simply because of her present unbelief in Christ as Messiah (Rom. 11:1,11).
The
new covenant demands a fulfilment of itself in terms of the conversion of
Jewish people and their acceptance of Christ as Messiah (Rom.
11:25-27). And as this book makes clear,
this is one of God’s redemptive purposes which he will fulfil in the
end-times. So the Jewish people,
the nation of Israel, the land, the city of Jerusalem, and the third temple
(which is yet to be built) will all play significant roles in God’s end-time
purposes. Furthermore, the Davidic
covenant regarding the reign of Messiah will be fulfilled in the millennial
reign of Christ on earth after his Second Advent.
In addition to the above, many
believers also rightly question whether Satan was bound in the Abyss after the
cross-resurrection event and for the entire interadventual period. Scripture seems to suggest otherwise. Peter warns us that the devil is still going
around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Paul also testifies that it was Satan that
tried to hinder him (1 Thess. 2:18). In
fact, the whole tenor of the narrative of Acts suggests forcibly that Satan’s
dominion is still active in this world, and that it fights tooth and nail
against the advance of the kingdom of God in this world. So, no, Satan is not yet bound, but he will
certainly be bound in the Abyss for the duration of the millennial reign of
Christ (Rev. 20:1-3).
2.
Premillennialism
‘Premillennialism’
is a much more biblically wholesome view of the end-times. It recognises the errors inherent in
‘replacement theology,’ and it therefore honours God’s redemptive purposes for
the Jewish people and the significance in the end-times of Israel, the
‘promised land,’ the city of Jerusalem, and also of the temple and the Temple
Mount area of Jerusalem. Although it
does recognise that the Old Testament promises of God to Israel do apply to the
Church in a spiritual way, because Gentile believers are grafted into the olive
tree of true messianic faith (Rom. 11:17-24), yet it emphasises that
these promises, given originally to Israel and the Jewish people, will be
fulfilled literally as they were written:
‘The
premillennial view is the view that holds that Christ will return to earth,
literally and bodily, before the millennial age begins and that, by His
presence, a kingdom will be instituted over which He will reign. In this kingdom all of Israel’s covenants
will be literally fulfilled and it will continue for a thousand years.’[6]
So
God does have redemptive purposes for Israel and the Jewish people, and
much of these will be fulfilled in the end-times. Some of these purposes, such as the return of
the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, which was prophesied in many Old
Testament passages, are already being fulfilled. In chapter 12, I gave an outline of Israel’s
future prophetic history, including God’s end-time redemptive purposes for the
Jewish people.
It
should be abundantly clear by now to the reader that this book embraces a
premillennial viewpoint of the end-times.
In particular, I believe that the Scriptures teach that there will be a
literal reign of Christ the Messiah on earth after his Second Advent and until
the final judgement. The word
‘premillennialism’ literally means ‘before the millennium,’ so it refers to the
belief that Jesus will come back before the millennium begins.
This premillennial belief is summed up in Figure 24.5 on the next page:
Figure
24.5 The premillennial view of the millennium
In addition to the points which I
made above in regard to the errors of amillennialism, the fundamental point
that (dispensational) premillennialism recognises is the distinction
between Israel and the Church.
Apart from unsaved Gentiles, there are three distinct groups in the
Scriptures:
i. Unbelieving
Jews: these have yet to believe in
Jesus, so they are distinct from the Church (e.g. 1 Cor. 10:32). They are the natural seed of Abraham. However, God has never annulled his purposes
and promises towards them, and one of his end-time purposes is to bring them
into the new covenant through faith in Christ as Messiah. They have experienced a hardening in part
until the full number of the Gentiles comes into faith. The apostle Paul calls this ‘a mystery,’
because it was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament writings (Rom.
11:25). They are presently still spread
throughout the world, but many have returned to their ancient homeland since
1948.
ii. The
Church: this is made up of believing Jews
and Gentiles, of whom the majority are Gentiles, of course. Together, they make up one new man in Christ
(Eph. 2:11-22). They are the spiritual
seed of Abraham by faith. However, the
Church does not replace national Israel in God’s purposes, so Gentile believers
should not become conceited (Rom. 11:25).
The terms ‘Israel’ and ‘the Church’ are not interchangeable. The apostle Paul calls the Church a
‘mystery,’ because it too was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament
writings (Eph. 3:6).
iii. National
Israel: many ethnic Jews have returned to
Israel since its re-establishment as a nation state in 1948. In God’s redemptive end-time purposes, there
is significant focus on Israel, the land, the city of Jerusalem and the temple.
2.a. Premillennialists
and the rapture
There
are four main views prevalent among premillennialists as to when the rapture
will occur. Some believe that it will be
before the seven-year tribulation period begins; others that it will happen in
the middle of the tribulation period, just before the Great Tribulation breaks
out; others that it will happen at the end of the Great Tribulation as part of
the Second Advent; and yet others believe that it will be after the mid-point
of the seven years, but before the outpouring of the seven bowls of wrath. These four views are respectively called the
pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation and pre-wrath rapture
positions. I have addressed these four
different views of the rapture in chapters 3 and 21.[7]
Figure 24.6 sums up the pre-tribulation premillennial position:
Figure
24.6 The pre-tribulation premillennial position
Copyright
Notice
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[1] The words
‘millennial’ and ‘millennium’ refer to the fact that this messianic kingdom
lasts for one thousand years. They
derive from the related word for ‘one thousand’ in Latin, mille.
[2] The word
‘chiliasm’ derives from the Greek word for ‘one thousand.’
[3] Irenaeus, Against
Heresies, Book 5, 28:3; and see the Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter XV.
[4] See https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/revelation/introduction/futurist-interpretation.html, accessed on
04.02.2021.
[5] Pentecost, J.D. Things
to Come, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958, p.372.
[6] ibid.,
p.372.
[7] Premillennialists
who believe in a post-tribulation rapture are often called ‘historic premillennialists,’
while those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture are called ‘dispensational
premillennialists.’ It should be clear
to the reader that in this book I teach the dispensationalist position.
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