Revelation is a book filled with controversy, but the thing that has sparked more debate than the identity of the antichrist or the two witnesses, the issue that has spilled more ink than the glorious return of Christ and the establishment of the new heavens and new earth, is the subject of the millennium.
The idea of the millennium comes from Revelation 20. It is in this chapter that we get the only reference in the Bible to a thousand-year period that many refer to as the millennium today. The different positions that Christians have taken through the years fall into two basic categories named based upon the timing of the second coming of Christ in relation to these thousand years.
Pre-Millennial
As you may reason from the name of the view, all pre-millennial views believe that the second coming of Christ is going to occur before the millennium. It holds that after the second coming, Jesus will reign with His saints on earth for a thousand years, at the end of which there will be a satanic uprising that will be stopped swiftly and easily by Jesus. This position is broken into two sub-categories over their larger view of theology outside of Revelation.
Historical
Historical Pre-Millennialism generally teaches that at the end of this present age, there will be a great tribulation followed by the second coming of Christ. At Christ’s coming, believers will be resurrected, Satan will be bound, and Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years. This will be a time of unprecedented blessing for the Church. At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released and he will instigate a rebellion, which will be quickly crushed. The unrighteous will at this point be raised for judgment, after which the eternal state will begin.
This position has had followers in the church from at least the 2nd century AD onward. It was taught by some of the early church fathers including Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. The best outline of this teaching in the 20th century is by George Eldon Ladd in his commentary on the book of Revelation.
Dispensational
Dispensationalism is a comprehensive theology all on its own. A dispensation is a marker of time that outlines the way that God has related to men over time. Dispensationalism offers the most complex chronology of the end times. According to dispensationalism, the current church age will end with the rapture of the church. The rapture will mark the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. The tribulation will end with the battle of Armageddon, where Christ will return to destroy His enemies. The nations will be judged and those who supported Israel will enter into Christ’s millennial kingdom, and the rest will be cast into Hades to await the last judgment.
During the millennium, the Jewish temple will be rebuilt and the temple sacrifices will be reinstituted as memorial sacrifices. Christ will sit on the throne of David and rule the world from Jerusalem. The end of the millennium will play out just as it does in the historical position with Christ crushing Satan in his final rebellion, the wicked are judged at the Great White Throne and cast into the lake of fire, and at last, the eternal state will commence.
This position found its unique origins in the 1800s within the Brethren Movement. It is believed that John Nelson Darby was the primary originator. This position caught on rapidly in the United States, being popularized by C. I. Scofield in the notes of his reference Bible. In the twentieth century, this view was also popularized by Tim LaHaye in the Left Behind series and The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey
Post-Millennial
Generally speaking, those holding to a post-millennial view teach that the “thousand years” of Revelation 20 occur immediately prior to the second coming of Christ. They have traditionally seen the millennium as a literal thousand years which begins without sign or fanfare. We could be 999 years through it currently or it might not have even begun yet. They reason this from Jesus’ words regarding the kingdom beginning like a mustard seed.
The key teaching of post-millennialism says that as the gospel goes forward in the world, the Holy Spirit will draw unprecedented multitudes to Christ. The Kingdom of God will be built here on earth through revival and gospel transformation. Then, at the culmination of all things, Christ will return, there will be a general resurrection of the just and the unjust, and the final judgment will take place.
This view was widely held among the Puritans and by many reformed pastors and teachers including men such as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Hodge. With its overall optimistic outlook, this view suffered during the 19th century because of the bloody revolutions, the Great War, the Civil War and more human ugliness. However, in the last twenty to thirty years, it has seen a resurgence through theologians like Loraine Boettner, Kenneth Gentry, and Douglas Wilson.
Amillennial
Amillennialists are often considered in their own camp. Their name means “no millennium” and that is a misnomer because they teach that the millennium is symbolic for the entire period of time between Christ’s first and second comings. Obviously, since we are nearly two thousand years removed from Christ, it is not a literal thousand years. But since they do see Christ’s second coming as the end of the “millennium” that would make them post-millennial by default. Also, many contemporary post-millennials are very similar to amillennial. The main difference between the two is not so much the timing of the millennium as the nature of the millennium.
Amillennialists emphasize the tension between the earthly and heavenly as Christ reigns with the saints in heaven and the church is militant here on earth. Amillennialists are much less optimistic than post-millennialists. They tend to argue that the growth of Christ’s kingdom has few if any visible manifestations. Their focus is more on the suffering that Christ has indicated the church will undergo.
This view also has its origin in the early church. Augustine (354–430) taught a version that influenced the church throughout the Middle Ages and into the Reformation. In the twentieth century, the view has been taught by theologians such as Anthony Hoekema, Kim Riddlebarger, G. K. Beale, and Sam Storms.
Regardless of the various views and their internal arguments, each would agree that we eagerly await the glorious return of our Savior, that day when our faith will be as sight and all things will be made new. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
