Millennial Views

Question #1: Will there be an earthy reign of Christ (a millennial reign)? (Rev. 20:4-6)

Amillennialism- There will be no earthly reign of Christ.
Premillennialism- The return of Christ will inaugurate the millennium.
Postmillennialism- The second coming of Christ will conclude the millennium.

Question #2: Will Christ remove the Church from the world before or after the great tribulation?

Pre-tribulationism- Christ will remove the Church from the world before the great tribulation. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Post-tribulationism- Christ will return only after the great tribulation.

Postmillennialism

“Postmillennialism rests on the belief that the preaching of the gospel will be so successful that the world will be converted. The reign of Christ, the locus of which is human hearts, will be complete and universal. The petition, ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’ will be actualized. Peace will prevail and evil will be virtually banished. Then, when the gospel has fully taken effect, Christ will return. Basically, then, postmillennialism is an optimistic view.”
–Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 1206

First taught by an African Donatist named Tyconius in the 4th century.
Picked up by Augustine and then became the Christian view through the Middle Ages.
Augustine: We are in the millennium and have been since Christ’s coming (Mark 3:27). At the end of the millennium, Satan will be loosed for a short time before his final demise.
In the Middle Ages, they thought the end would come at 1000. Since it did not, it became interpreted as all of Church History.
Key concept- The Gospel of the Kingdom will be spread around the world.
Psalms 47, Psalm 72, Psalm 100; Isaiah 45:22-25; Hosea 2:23; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18-20.
It will work like leaven throughout the entire world.
With the spread of the gospel, social structures and all of society will be
transformed.

Premillennialism

“Premillennialism is committed to the concept of an earthly reign by Jesus Christ of approximately one thousand years (or at least a substantial period of time). Unlike postmillennialism, premillennialism sees Christ as physically present during this time; it believes that he will return personally and bodily to commence the millennium. This being the case, the millennium must be seen as still in the future.”
–Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 1209

First presented in the first three centuries of the Church. Throughout this period, there was a firm expectation of the imminent return of Christ.
First proponents: Justin Martyr and Irenaeus.
Regained popularity in the middle of the 19th century, but it was changed and adapted by the Dispensationalist. Now, Classical Premillennialism and Dispensational Premillennialism.
Key idea: Millennium will be a sharp contrast to the previous world system. This time and world system is marked by evil and turmoil. The millennium will be a time of peace and harmony (Romans 8:19-23; Isa 11:6-7; Isa 65:25). The end of this age will be marked by great persecution and chaos before the millennium arrives.
Primary Biblical support: Revelation 20:4-6. Term used for resurrection is the same for both resurrections. Therefore, they are both the same.

Amillennialism

“Literally, Amillennialism is the idea that there will be no millennium, no earthly reign of Christ. The great final judgment will immediately follow the second coming and issue directly in the final states of the righteous and the wicked.”
–Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 1212

Found throughout church history and Augustine is argued as a supporter. In many ways, it is similar to postmillennialism, so it has the same history. Popular with the Reformational leaders, Jonathan Edwards, and many Puritans.
Key idea: The book of Revelation is highly symbolic and each of the seven sections of the book deal with time between Christ’s first and second coming. As apocalyptic literature, Revelation is symbolic, and it is dangerous and wrong to try to read it literally. Revelation 20 is not the end, but a special perspective on the end times.
The main exegetical issue problem is that the two resurrections in Revelation 20. Main argument is that they are two types of resurrection- one spiritual and one physical.