Theology Series 4: The Millennium
Forewarning - this is a long blog post.
We’ve all seen movies of what it may look like in the Last Days of mankind. Rapture, violence, evil, natural disasters, zombies, etc. But what does Scripture really say about the Last Days? Well, I can tell you that it is far more frightening than what we’ve seen on the television screen. I personally have always been intrigued by the “Last Days” at a very young age through the influence of Sunday School teachers. To-date, I enjoy listening to a podcast by Jan Markell called “Understanding the Times”—I suggest this podcast to anyone seeking more knowledge about the end times. With that said, I am confident that a sure knowledge of God’s plan for the end times will bring confidence to believers of the magnificent day of Jesus’s return.
The Last Days is really centered around the doctrine of the Millennium that has been a long-debated topic for thousands of years—namely because the topic is mentioned in the most difficult NT books ever written, Revelation. I know this topic can be very intimidating because of how complicated it seems. I by no means am an expert in this subject, but have an inclination to encourage my fellow Christians and urge my brothers and sisters who are not yet in the faith. Let’s start off first with what exactly the definition of “Millennium” is? In Latin origin, it means “thousand years”. In context of the definition, the doctrine of the Millennium is the belief that Christ will reign peacefully for a thousand- year period with the saints. I believe it is one of the greatest biblical themes in regard to divine revelation. Though we read this theme in Revelation 20, it is important to note that the theme in itself can be found throughout all of Scripture, in which even the prophets of old prophesied about the thousand-year reign—specifically God’s covenant to King David through Samuel. In the Millennium, believers are in the glorious presence of Christ; embedded in the many prophecies are the projections of the glory that will be manifested in the Millennium. Isaiah exclaims, “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:4-5). In the Millennial reign, the center of Christ’s glory will be the apex where it will impact all mankind spiritually...bringing everyone toward Him. Now, the mystery is whether this Millennium reign is just symbolic in Scripture, occurring right now, or will come in the future. That is where the centuries of debate coincide. Three primary views sprouted and have taken precedence amongst many churches today. Amillennialism, Premillennialism, and Postmillennialism.
Amillennialism’s prefix “a” means that there will be no literal one-thousand-year reign of Christ. The prefix “pre” refers to Jesus' second coming occurring before the Millennium. Meanwhile, the “post” refers to Jesus returning after the Millennium. We will explore these three major views, in which perhaps you can come to your own conclusion which of these best accounts for the biblical material provided. I encourage you to read Revelation 20 prior to continuing.
Amillennialism
Let’s dive into Amillennialism and how this argument frames Revelation 20. This view holds that the reign of Christ with the saints is currently present. Amillennialists believe that Christ is currently on the throne reigning and has been since His ascension to Heaven after the resurrection. In Amillennialism, the present millennial age will be followed by Jesus’s second coming, the resurrection of believers, the last judgment, then the new Heavens and earth. David Engelman contends that the “thousand years” is symbolic rather than literal, in a sense that it symbolizes completeness or wholeness in God’s redemption plan. In the Bible, 10 consistently represents the number of completion, in which 1,000 is interpreted as the perfect completion. This plays into the belief that the book of Revelation is seen as a symbolic book in nature.
In interpreting Revelation 20, Engelman argues that it cannot be taken as a historical observation through the eyes of John, but as of a vision only. For example, Revelation 20:2, “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,”... we are to understand that the binding of Satan is the symbol of Jesus’s sovereign control over evil. As a result, this prevents Satan from deceiving the nations anymore putting mankind in a state where we are seemingly responsible for our own temptations. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 supports this idea, “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” In this example, the Amillennialists believe that Satan will be let loose for a short period of time per Revelation 20:3 and 7 after Christ and the saints are reigning invisibly. This would allow Satan to use the Antichrist to create a world-kingdom which would be an assault on the faithful, true church. The “beloved city” as mentioned in verse 9 represents the church, and will undergo persecution for a short time via the great tribulation of Matthew 24:21. God will send fire to consume the ungodly in preparation of Christ’s second physical coming as Paul exclaims in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10:
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
One note we must take is that the Amillennial view understands Revelation 20 symbolically. In doing so, whoever holds this view can interpret unfulfilled prophecies in any way they want because it enables them to have a wide range of implications. However, if fulfilled prophecies in Scripture have been fulfilled already, then we must take into consideration that unfulfilled prophecy is not symbolic but will literally be fulfilled to remain consistent in God’s actions. Consequently, in my opinion Amillennialism should be rejected. The Bible has given clear implications that Christ’s Kingdom will be physical and literal. These are just a few examples of Jesus literally coming down to earth to reign in the Millennial Kingdom:
1. “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south” (Zechariah 14:4).
2. “I saw in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
3. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 23:5).
Postmillennialism
The second major view we will be looking at is Postmillennialism. This view argues that Christ will return after a certain period but not exactly at one thousand years, as this is a symbolic number; instead the return will occur following the Millennium when Christians have already established the Kingdom on earth. Many Postmillennialists hold the idea that the Millennium period is between Christ’s first coming (incarnation/birth) to his Second Coming. In the current Millennium that we are supposedly in, the view holds that the world will become increasingly better. However, Robert Clouse makes a supporting point that it is important for us to understand that evil will not be removed but reduced due to the influence of Christians spreading the Gospel. Christ will return at the climax of the believers coming to faith, and in turn it will set the stage where the final judgment of God will take place.
The biblical evidence supporting Postmillennialism is surprisingly not lacking in exegetical evidence. As we investigate the biblical support, we will find that it’s not based on selected texts, nor dependent on just the Old Testament or New Testament text. Psalm 22:27, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him…” Other Psalms follow the same concept of the world converting to Christ as well; Psalm 67:2, Psalm 67:7, Psalm 86:9; Psalm 102:15, etc. Furthermore, in Psalm 2 we see the pattern of evangelism, as well as a temporary struggle that is charted by a historical victory. Bock argues for Postmillennialism by concluding how Psalm also develops a redemptive-historical theme to showcase that the Bible supports a current millennial reign where Christ is currently reigning— “’As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession…’” (Psalm 2:6-8). Postmillennialists believe these verses support God establishing Jesus’s legitimacy in Kingship in our current time. Instead of Christ Kingship occurring at His second coming, Postmillennialists found that even in the NT, the exaltation of Christ to Kingship occurred at resurrection (Acts 13:33; Romans 1:4).
Unfortunately, we run into the error where unfulfilled prophecy is interpreted as symbolic rather than literal like Amillennialism. We’ve already learned that interpreting unfulfilled prophecy this way enables an individual to create their own meaning of Scripture. However, to have the view that the world and mankind will become increasingly better is contradictory to what we read in Scripture. There are many passages that provide us the contrary scene. Paul describes the last days as “terrible” in 2 Timothy 3:1-7—where he lists the many ungodly things people will be subjected to. Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 compares the last days to the beginning of birth pains before Christ returns. Postmillennialists may have an exegetical stance to their view on Christ’s Kingship, but it fails to interpret unfulfilled prophecy literally as the already fulfilled prophecy of wickedness. Jesus Himself states the world will not become better, but worse in Matthew 24:6:-14:
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
I think it’s important to know that even though the Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in the whole world, it does not mean that all will become believers, or that the world will become a better place because of it. Christ will be rejected despite the effort because mankind will be disgusted by goodness.
I thought it was intriguing to find that even Spurgeon clearly rejected Postmillennialism in one of his sermon excerpts, “There are sanguine brethren who are looking forward to everything growing better and better and better, until at least this present age ripens into a Millennium. They will not be able to sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon. We who believe that there will be no millennial reign without the King, and who expect no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of the righteous Lord are nearer the mark.” Not that we have to agree with everything Spurgeon said, but he is right…Scripture gives no solid basis for a world growing towards holiness.
Premillennialism
Premillennialism interprets Revelation 20:4-6 as literal deliverables. This view holds the belief that if fulfilled prophecies occurred literally, then unfulfilled prophecies must be fulfilled literally as well. Since Postmillennialists interpretation of the passage(s) is literal in the unfulfilled prophecies written by John, then they are committed to Jesus Christ reigning physically on earth for exactly one-thousand years. Before Christ returns, we will see the Gospel being preached to all the nations, signs of apostasy, wars, famines, earthquakes, the antichrist, and the tribulation. In light of the signs, Premillennialists believe that Christ will return in a bodily form to usher in the physical Millennium reign on earth after the tribulation...that is, just before the Millennium reign begins. Christ’s reign will occur suddenly with no announcement like the Parable of the Ten Virgins, unlike the Postmillennialists view that it will occur gradually. As the new Kingdom on earth is established, we will see the elected Israel nation be converted to Christianity, in which they will become an important group during the Millennium Kingdom. In Revelation 20:1-3, John writes.
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.”
This passage brings us to see the literal events of Christ returning at the initiation of the Millennium to remove Satan and his demons from the world causing a dramatic change to the world. (Note: At the Second Coming of Jesus, all human rebels would have already been destroyed from the tribulation at Armageddon.) The angel mentioned in verse 1 obviously possesses great power as he was sent to earth to bind and cast Satan to the abyss. John MacArthur notes, “The key given to the angel by God signifies his delegated authority. He has the power to open the abyss and shut it after casting Satan inside.” Per the text, the length of Satan being bound to the abyss is one-thousand years. This piece of the text is very crucial to the literal Millennial reign duration and why Jesus will be reigning in a world of peace and goodness for one-thousand years.
When Satan is put to the abyss, Christ will usher in the new Kingdom with those who have died before His second coming, as they will be resurrected physically per the reference “first resurrection” in the passage of Revelation 20:1-6, “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.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection”. Christ will be the ruler on earth, and alongside will be his saints for one-thousand years. Christ’s saints will rule subordinately over life and will aid Christ to fulfill his will indicated in Revelation 20:6…”The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years”. As John writes in Revelation, we see another third reference in verse 6 that exclaims that the reign of Christ with his saints will be for a thousand years. His emphasis is key to interpretation.
Premillennialism takes place in an orderly fashion, enabling the eternal states of Heaven and hell to be established for God to make the final judgment on mankind. Could there be a reason for why God inspired John to write out his vision so vividly?
Personal Thoughts
I did as best as I knew how to make the Millennium make sense. My hope is that there was an inkling of understanding into the three views we surveyed. As for my personal thoughts…Spurgeon did justice to my exact conclusion in one of his sermon archives regarding the millennial, “Some think that this descent of the Lord will be postmillennial—that is, after the thousand years of his reign. I cannot think so. I conceive that the advent will be premillennial; that he will come first; and then will come the Millennium as the result of his personal reign on earth.” The question that we ought to ask ourselves when deciding our conclusion is if Revelation 20 is supposed to be interpreted symbolically, then why was John so emphatic and descriptive in his writings? Even the OT prophets spoke of the things that had come to pass in full detail–this is to ensure when prophecies are fulfilled, they would not be missed by our human eyes. One most momentous prophecy as written in the passage of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” One must conclude that, as God spoke to the OT prophets literally, He must also be speaking to John literally as well. God never changes, even in how He speaks of the things to come.
As we conclude on the Millennium doctrine and its three major views, I trust that you’ve come to your own reckoning. The bible is a book of facts and history and we are taught by the Apostles what to believe about these facts and the history, as well as how to apply it in our lives. So, what do believers do with the knowledge of the Last Day? We use it as an arsenal against Satan because he loses in the end despite all his efforts. We make it our hope, that despite the trials we go through on earth, despite the despair of being crushed by the waves of this broken world, we will one day be glorified with Christ in His Kingdom (in any view). The day of the Lord will be great and magnificent for those who believe, but a day of great terror and anguish for the latter.
CY
(Reach out for reference if desired)