Posted on 02/10/2010 10:02:45 AM PST by Gamecock
“Premillennialism comes from a term that means, literally, “before the thousand years”. Thus, it is essentially a way of interpreting Revelation 20, which six times mentions a period of a thousand years, during which Satan is bound and believers reign with Christ. Premillennialists believe that Christ will return and establish his Kingdom on earth, and that he will be visibly present for a thousand years, reigning over all the earth in an age of peace and prosperity. Then, after this thousand-year visible reign of Christ on earth, he will quell a final rebellion, enter into his last judgment, and finally usher in the eternal state, with its new heavens and new earth.
Premillennialists usually take a linear view of Revelation chapters 4 through 22, seeing all the visions and events spoken of in those chapters, not as different ways of describing the same period of time, but as one chronologically unfolding prophecy. Hence, since Christ's thousand-year reign is spoken of after all the events leading up to chapter 20, it must take place after all these prophesied events. Thus, it is still future. Christ's reigning for a thousand years is also understood to be speaking of his visible presence on the earth, and so he will return to the earth, sometime in the future, but before the thousand years.
How can there be 1000 years of peace upon the earth WITHOUT the physical presence and active ruling of Christ?
Post millennium theory sounds like a rejection of Christ to me.
As confusing and difficult to interpret as revelations is,
that aspect of it seems pretty clear to me. It begins with the arrival of Christ in His full glory and establishment of His kingdom on earth after defeating Satan once and for all at the end of the great tribulation.
Knowing whether or not your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life TODAY, is certainly more important than what theories can be gleaned from reading about the future.
First, I don’t necessarily support the post-millenial view, but I do believe it has merit for various reasons. Anyone who says they have a very clear understanding of what will eventually happen will likely be really surprised when all is finished. Each of the 4 prevailing views has serious difficulties.
I believe the Creator of life has the ability to do anything, including bringing peach on earth without his remaining on earth. However, it’s hard to imagine with him here or not here. When he came the first time, peace didn’t prevail, what makes us think he has to be here again for peace to reign?
One’s eschatological view’s are determined on their process of interpretation of various scriptures. There are many passages that speak of the next time Christ comes, the game will be all over. This lends support to post or a-millenialist view.
Premillenialists take various scriptures from Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Gospels, and Revelation, compile them together to make a complete theory. This can be very troublesome/unreliable for various and obvious reasons.
Additionally, Revelation, as one example, is made of of much symbolism, and it is difficult to separate literal passages from symbolic. Can one say without a doubt that the dragon, horsemen, 144,000 saved, etc. are figurative but say the millenium is definitely literal?
By nature, symbolic or figurative items stand for something besides themselves. If in fact the “millenium of peace” is symbolic, then both pre and post millenial views have problems.
In fact, many would argue that most of the book of Revelation and many of the other prophetic writings speak to a time past.
What a jumbled up mess! Could it be that we aren’t supposed to know and just act in faith? The Gospels are clear that we are simply to be prepared. I’m not here to debate the theories, although I could spend all week speaking as to the merits and problems with each. I just wanted to say that Christ fits in perfectly to the post-millenial theory depending on which passages are read literally and which are read figuratively.
The wisest Christians I know are VERY CAREFUL about condemning end times views--even ones they think are wrong. Down through the ages equally committed Christian scholars have come down all over the place on eschatology.
One of the most knowledgeable bible scholars I know, Robert Cooley, President Emeritus of Gordon Conwell seminary, while being a (moderate) dispensational pre-millennialist, is an archeologist and historian. Dr. Cooley teaches that there are 3 things all Christians everywhere have agreed upon about the End Times:
1) Jesus is coming
2) The dead will be raised
3) There will be a Last Judgement
Disputes about other issues, says Cooley, are minor stuff, compared to these 3 truths.
I myself am a "Pan-milleniallist," meaning I know it will all "pan out" in the end....
When you look at the Revelation in relation to the ages-long conflict between God and Satan, yes, definitely so, Revelation is linear:
1. Satan as the dragon or serpent, with his two front men the beast and the false prophet, succeeds in deceiving the entire world into an antichristian endtime one world government. The seven heads and ten horns on the red dragon/serpent in Rev. 12, and on the beast in Rev. 13, depict that endtime one world government. A socialist-nihilist one, in my opinion, notice the serpent’s color - red.
2. At the first resurrection and second coming of Christ, Satan’s two front men and the socialist one world government are destroyed. Satan, however, is not...not until 1000 years later, he is not yet destroyed he is incarcerated where he can’t deceive the nations.
3. Next in linear sequence, comes Christ’s 1000 year rule on earth, with Satan unable to deceive the nations. Without Satan around, true peace reigns on earth under the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
4. At the end of the 1000 years, the nations are given their final test, Satan is loosed to deceive the nations again. The finality of which, the nations deceived by Satan are destroyed, and Satan finally meets his end, the same end the beast and false prophet got 1000 years previous.
Now this is the natural, linear way Revelation reads. To say that we are presently in some kind of spiritualized 1000 years with Satan incarcerated where he cannot deceive the nations, is a gross convolution of what the word of God describes.
Granted, the Revelation causes many to not see the forest for the trees. One can get confused in all the imagery of seals, trumpets, bowls, etc., and not see the big overarching picture. That is, the linear process of God’s dealings with Satan - and all that are deceived by him. The endtime is when all of this comes to a head, in a Satanic, antichristian one world government.
Amen! There is nothing complicated about Rev.20, it is very clear.
‘...and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Re 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Re 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Re 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Re 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Lu 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Lu 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Lu 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
I typed up my post while the three previous posts were being posted, I didn’t see them. Obviously, per my post, I take issue with their type of reasoning.
I have found through the years, that those who use that sort of reasoning have read Amill, Preterist, or Postmill literature, or have known somebody who believes it, and have either swallowed it hook, line, and sinker, or it has confused them causing them to adopt a “pan-mill” like position.
In my opinion, the word of God speaks for itself. The Revelation is linear, its the way anyone not trying to read a preconceived theory into it (the theories listed above), would read it. Not only so, but it is the way the post-Apostolic Fathers Justin Martyr, Ireneaus, Tertullian, etc. read it. They saw it like I described in my post. It is thus described as the historical view, “Historic Premillennialism.”
By the way, Historic Premillennialism is styled “Historic” in opposiiton to “Dispensational” Premillennialism. Two very different things. I am a Historic Premillennialist. Historic Premillennialists are neither Dispensationalist or Pretrib.
What are those "various and obvious reasons?" I don't see them as being either.
I think you are confusing premillennialists with the Premillennial Dispensationalists.
It may interest you that Irenaeus, Tertullian and Justin Martyr were premillennialists.
I probably am — thank you for that answerr
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