Introduction
The millennial kingdom doctrine has been debated among many Christian scholars. The question when will this 1000 years take places defined in Revelation 20:1-10. The word millennium derives from the Latin words mille (“thousand”) and annus (“years”). There are three theological viewpoints: millennialism, postmillennialism, and premillennialism. The prefix “a” means “no” or “none,” amillennialism suggest there will be no future rain of Christ on earth for 1,000.00 years. Amillennialism teaches that the Kingdom of God will not be physically established on earth throughout the “millennium”, but rather that Jesus is presently reigning from heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father, that Jesus is presently remain with the church until the end of the world, as he promised at the Ascension, that the Pentecost, the millennium began, as shown by Peter using the prophecies of Joel, about the coming of the kingdom, to explain what happening, and that, therefore the church and its spread of the good news is Christ’s kingdom.
Postmillennial views that the church becomes more successful in missions all over the world and that the world will merge into a 1000 year kingdom. The Book of Revelation, chapter 20 by contrast, the amillennial view holds that the number of years in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description; that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the church age or more rarely, that it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and that while Christ’s reign is spiritual in nature during the millennium, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in the final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.
Finally, premillennial is Christian eschatology is the belief that Christ will literally reign on the earth for 1,000 years at his second coming. The doctrine is call premillennialism because it views the current age as prior to Christ’s kingdom therefore before Christ comes back the world will go from bad to worse.
Why are there distinctive views? This paper will search through church history premillennialism’s dominance in the church’s first two centuries, Augustine and the prophetic dark ages, the Protestant Reformation’s return to literal interpretation, the dispensational movement and the return to literalism in prophecy, and postmillennialism.
Premillennialism’s Dominance during the Church’s First Two Centuries
Permillennialism dominated views throughout the early church were clearly taught. The first century premillennialists’ interpretation speaks clearly to those who received God’s revelation and wrote it down in the Bible. The materials tell us that there will be a millennium after the resurrection of the dead, when the kingdom of God is set upon earth. This is important because at the time of Christ the interpretations among the Jews view as literal methodology.
The students of Antioch embraced the earliest literal interpretation of the Scriptures which text was entirely exegetical. Diodorus of Tarsus, founder of the school, educated Theodorus and Chrysostom which were impactful for the school. Diodorus influenced Papias who was associated with the Apostle John, who played a major role in advocating premillennialism in the first centuries. This is imperative because Papias incorporated oral traditions of two kinds: some he had himself heard from the Presbyters; others had a second hand from the disciples of the Presbyters. Therefore, every introduction to the New Testament, every book on the Fourth Gospel mentions him. Furthermore, the restoration of a more literal interpretation of the early church fathers spreads to revival of permillennialism in the 1600s. Irenaeus, Plocarp, and Martyr writing portrayed a starring role in the first century of their clear premillennial statement.
I. Prophetic Dark Age and Advent of Amillennialism
As premillennial fades into the third century. Amillennialism advent takes root to the literally interpretation of Revelation 20, which it shouldn’t be taken literally. The amillennialist suggests Christ reign through his church until His second coming, which will mark not the millennial reign-but the beginning of eternity of believers. Now in the third century ‘Allegorism” takes shape for Greeks interpretation. This is important because the Jews in Alexandria, Egypt, had daily contact with many Greek philosophers. However, “Allegorism” was the explanation of the Scripture passage which is based on supposition that its author, whether God or man, intended something “other” than what is literally expressed.
Philo the Greek philosopher attended the school of Alexandrian which was saturated in Platonic philosophy. Philo philosophy is important because he spans two cultures, the Greek and the Hebrew . Both traditions however developed concepts for future Hellenistic interpretation of messianic Hebrew thought, especially by Clement of Alexandria Christian apologists like Athenagoras, Theophilus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and by Origen. His Greek interpretation influenced books such as the book of Moses, practically Daniel chapter 9. Hosea is one of the earliest allegorists, when he says “Jacob’s struggled with the angel that was a struggle in prayer: this was because the idea of an actual physical contest is no longer harmonized with the prophetic conception of heavenly begins.” Another student of Alexandrian school was Origen; a theologian argued chiliasm by introducing the allegorical method of that it would interpret spiritually and not literal the passage of the Scripture which brought forth the millennium. Other teachers continued through Dionysius of Alexandria, by rejecting the book of Revelation in 360 by the Council of Laodicea.
Perhaps Augustine in the (4th century) infused Christian doctrine with Neo-Platonism. He is famous for being an inimitable Catholic theologian and for his agnostic contributions to Western philosophy. His book “The City of God” explorers the world of relationships in view of Christianity and secular, church and the world, the City of God verses the City of Stan. This is important because all of these doctrines become the key teaching stones of the Roman church.
His disillusionment with the Chiliasts led Augustine to an intensive study of Revelation 20:1-10, the New Testament passage that speaks directly about the millennium. Therefore he saw the millennial kingdom as being primarily the reign of Christ in the hearts of the faithful. He supported a broader view of the thousand years, as a term marking an indefinite period of time between the first advent, when Christ’s kingdom was established, and his second advent. In fact it is declared that when the 1000 came and went without the Second Coming occurred, amillennialits spiritualized the 1,000 years to mean an indefinite period of time or the time between the first and second comings. During this span of time, writes Augustine, the devil is “prevented from the exercise of his whole power to seduce men’ and the saints “reign with Christ” over his spiritual kingdom”. This is relevant in context because when Christ returns, he will judge the living and the dead, and then will usher in the eternal state”. In light of the banqueting carnality and Gnostic dualism, some made the millennial kingdom as a luxurious and sensual living. It was declared that after the resurrection of the Kingdom of Christ will be on earth and that carnal humanity will dwell in Jerusalem, once more enslaved to lusts and pleasures. Therefore, the enmity towards the Scriptures of God, and anxiety to lead men astray, he foretells a period of a thousand years given up to weeding feasts.
In the fourth and fifth centuries Constantine makes Christianity the official religion of Rome. The end of persecution made the church suddenly feel more secure. This is important because once Christianity became the established religion; Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire. Rather short lived the Dark Ages lasted from the 4th to the 16th century, and dark they were indeed. Real effort to interpret the Scriptures became obsolete.
II. Protestant Reformation (16th Century)
The Protestant Reformation re-captured the return to the literal method of interpretation of the Scriptures. Martin Luther was influential in terms of returning literal interpretation of the Scriptures. Luther believed that the literal sense of the Scripture alone (Sola Scriputra) was the whole essence of faith alone (Sola Fide). His rejection against allegory insisted on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures. For Luther, his interpretation on salvation could not be found in membership within an institution, or in the hands of human beings. His understanding of the literal interpretation of the Scriptures supports that salvation was grounded in faith, and that this faith is what leads to salvation through the grace of God. Luther, also suggest that all believers are Priest who has the responsibility to teach God’s Word. His ideas of penance and righteousness, as well as salvation began to change from what instruction had steered him to believe. This became the basis of his “new conversion”. Also in the 16th Century emphasis were attempting on Soteriology and Christology.
This is important because it explains the relationship between an attempt to portray the salvation Jesus Christ brings to us soteriology, and an attempt to portray the identity of this bearer of salvation Christology. Soteriology is a term derived from the Greek word soteria, within the English language translates into salvation. However, Christology is concerned with the study of the identity of Jesus Christ involves understanding the character of Jesus Christ. Also the nature of Christ that deals with issues pertaining to his humanity and divinity. With all of the literal method of interpretation emerges one would assume that eschatology would materializes in world; however eschatology takes a back seat to soteriological.
III. Dispensationalism (1800’s)
During the 1800’s, theologians began to apply literal hermeneutic to the entire Bible, including eschatology. John Darby writing consists of normal hermeneutic to the whole Bible. Darby’s belief would be a millennial kingdom in which God would fulfill His conditional promises with Israel. According to Paul Enns, “Darby advances the scheme of dispensationalism by noting each dispensation places man under some condition; man has some responsibility before God.” As important as theses doctrines are in Darby’s theology, they were but an outgrowth of other doctrines which must be considered the bedrock of his and the Brethren’s teaching. This is important because it is the bedrock upon which orthodox Christianity has stood since Pentecost and upon which Fundamentalists made their stand shortly after the turn of the century.
Various Bible conferences now exist in various parts of the United States. The Bible Conference Movement of the 1800’s helped spread dispensationalism. This is important because it starts to promote dispensationalism ideas were often promoted at these conferences. The American Bible and Prophetic Conferences of (1979-1914) promoted a dispensational theology. Darby, along with Scofield, Chafer, Walvoord, and Ryrie were key thinkers during the dispensational age. Dispensationalism caused a resurgence of the premillennialism view. Many Colleges that taught dispensationalism began to unfold. These include Dallas Theological Seminary, the College of Biblical Studies, and the Moody Bible Institute.
IV. Postmillennialism
The postmillennialism views come forth in the 17th Century. While Whitby is commonly given the credit for the rise postmillennialism as a division of millenarianism, the roots which brought his theory to life extend back to the early centuries of the church. His major contribution was his reversal of the prevailing amillennial viewpoint of Revelation 20. Whitby advanced the idea that Revelation 20 follow chronologically the events of Revelation 19, and that the millennium, while in the inter-advent period, was still future, possibly remotely future. This is once provided a way of escape from the incompatibility of the events of history of his day with millennial prophecies and allowed a more literal interpretation of the glowing promises of a golden age of righteousness and peace on earth fulfilled in the future. The postmillennialism brings optimism to missions and medical expansions.
The postmillennialism wanes events of the twentieth century changed. Postmillennialism has become all but extinct as the result of two world wars, the Great Depression, and the unabated moral decay in the world. Conditions are definitely not improving however, postmillennialism does continue today as a minority. Dominion theology, or reconstructionism, maintains that Christians should “take over” in every aspect of society, including government. The church should Christianize society and therefore bring in the kingdom.
Positive Confession, or prosperity gospel, is also postmillennial. It is the belief that if a believer speaks spiritual or faith-filled words, then he can have what he says. When faith-filled spiritual words are spoken, thy can alter the physical and spiritual world. Two positive confessionists are Charles Capps and Kenneth Copeland.
Conclusion
This paper traced the doctrine of the millennial kingdom through church history. It started with premillennialism’s dominance in the church’s first two centuries, then moved on to Augustine and the prophetic age, then to the Protestant Reformation and its return to literal interpretation, then to dispensationalism and the return to literalism in prophecy, and finally to postmillennialism and Daniel Whitby
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