4 Views of the Millennium
Eschatology is not merely a topic for dinner conversations about speculative theology, but instead a formative lens through which Christians interpret present suffering and their role in the mission of God.
As I continue this series on eschatology, I would be completely remiss if I neglected the topic of the Millennium. Few debates on eschatology have generated as much heated debate and controversy as the question of how we are to understand Revelation 20:1-10. The passage describes a thousand-year period of time after the beast and the false prophet have been thrown into the lake of fire, during which Satan is bound and Christ reigns with his saints.
Is it a literal 1,000 years? A metaphorical period? Is it in the future, the present, or the past?
“A Christian’s understanding of the Millennium inevitably informs how he views the world, the Church, and his own calling within God’s redemptive plan for history.”
Before we discuss each view, it is worth mentioning a common “non-view” of the Millennium today–and that is the “Pan-Millennial” view. It is commonly articulated as a joke. When someone is asked what their millennial view is, they will answer, “Well, I’m pan-millennial … I believe it’ll all pan out in the end.” While this might get a laugh, it shows a disregard for the importance of Revelation 20. Because the Millennium touches on themes of Christ’s kingdom, the future of the Church, and the hope of God’s people, it is essential to approach this subject carefully, pastorally, and biblically. This article seeks to explain the major positions and to briefly evaluate them in light of Scripture.
There are four major views of the Millennium: dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. Each of these big theological words relates to the Millennium, or thousand-year reign of Christ, and the prefix of each speaks to the timing of the Second Coming of Christ in relation to the Millennium. The focus of this article is to break down each position. In broad strokes, here are the four major views:
Dispensational Premillennialism: Jesus returns before his literal thousand-year reign, after the rapture of his church and a seven-year time of tribulation.
Historic Premillennialism: Jesus returns before his literal thousand-year reign.
Amillennialism: The thousand-year reign is symbolic of the entire church age. Jesus returns after the church age.
Postmillennialism: Jesus returns after the world has been transformed by the Gospel through the work of the Church.
Let’s examine each view in more detail.
Dispensational Premillennialism
Dispensational premillennialism is the youngest view of the major millennial positions. I have discussed dispensationalism in previous articles, here, here and here. This view originated in the 19th century through the ministry of Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and it was popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible in America in the early 20th century. It is the theological framework behind much popular end-times fiction (like the Left Behind series), prophecy conferences, and the pre-tribulational rapture teaching.
This view is quite complicated regarding end-times events and the timeline of these events. The complexity even leads to many different views regarding the exact timing of a “secret rapture” of the church, a seven-year tribulation, which will be followed by a public return of Christ to establish his millennial reign on earth. This view is called “dispensational” because they go along with the dispensational view of how God works with his people. Dispensationalists view the Bible as teaching a sharp distinction between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church, seeing them as two separate peoples of God with different covenantal destinies. They believe the whole purpose of the tribulation and Millennium is the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the Old Testament people of God, and they believe that this future Millennium will be a literal fulfillment of a number of Old Testament promises concerning a restored national Israel, a rebuilt temple, and Jesus Christ sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem.
These dispensational views differ sharply with the historic view of covenant theology, which understands the Bible as teaching a unified people of God throughout history. While advocates of a dispensational view will say that they are just “reading the Bible literally,” this view in actuality undermines redemptive history and the unity of the covenant of grace. Additionally, prophetic or apocalyptic literature is filled with symbols which are not meant to be understood literally. As a result of these errors, this view often includes aberrant positions such as the return of the Old Testament sacrificial system and a re-built temple. This view also struggles to account for the New Testament’s application of Israel’s promises to the Church in Christ.
Historic Premillennialism
While historic premillennialism shares a view of a future millennial kingdom with dispensational premillennialism, it does so without the distinctive features of dispensational theology (as discussed above). Holding to a more covenantal view, proponents of historic premillennialism affirm a single covenant people of God, rejecting the sharp Israel–Church dichotomy of dispensationalism. This view is called “historic” in order to distinguish it from the dispensational view, and because it is often regarded as the earliest millennial position in church history. Also known as chiliasm (from the Greek chilia, “thousand”), Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian all held variations of this view, believing in a future millennial reign of Christ on earth.
The historic premillennial view teaches a future time of tribulation as well, which will be followed by a literal earthly reign of Christ lasting a thousand years. During this time Satan is bound, righteousness will grow in the earth, and Christ will rule directly over the nations of the earth. As a view, it seeks to emphasize the tangible victory of Christ in history and the earthly fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
Historic premillennialism affirms core Christian doctrines such as a future bodily return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the ultimate victory of Christ. Still, the view faces significant theological challenges, particularly around the hypothesized coexistence of Christians who have been resurrected and are now immortal, living alongside humans who have not yet been resurrected during the millennial period. It also underemphasizes the present reign of Christ. While holding to a future millennial reign, a weakness of this view is that it does not provide a clear picture of how the Millennium fits within the broader picture of the covenant of grace, leaving it theologically incomplete.
Amillennialism
In contrast to both premillennial views, amillennialism holds that the “Millennium” described in Revelation 20 is not a future, literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth but a symbolic depiction of the present reign of Christ during the age of the Church. As the thousand years are seen as symbolic, the Millennium according to this view spans the entire period of time between Christ’s first and second coming. This view rose to prominence after Augustine taught it in the fifth century, and it grew to be the dominant eschatological view of church history.
Central to the amillennial view is the conviction that Christ is already ruling and reigning. Following his resurrection and ascension, Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth, and this reign is seen on earth through his bride, the Church. The binding of Satan in Revelation 20 is understood as real, but an amillennial view interprets it as Satan being restrained from deceiving the nations in the way he once did, which allows the gospel to spread to the ends of the earth even as spiritual opposition and persecution continue.
Unlike premillennialism, which is very concerned with precise timelines, amillennialism emphasizes the symbolism found in Revelation, interpreting the intense visions of revelation as theological portrayals of spiritual realities rather than detailed pictures of earthly events. Revelation 20 is seen as a symbolic picture of all of church history. There is no intermediate earthly kingdom between Christ’s second coming and the eternity. Amillennialists seek to interpret the unclear visions of Revelation in light of other clearer passages in the New Testament which point to Christ’s second coming as a single climactic event, followed immediately by the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the consummation of the new heavens and new earth.
Amillennialists teach that the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Christ and in his Church. Old Testament prophecies of restoration, peace, and blessing are understood as symbols pointing to theological truths of Christ and what he accomplishes. While its proponents argue that this view avoids speculative eschatology, and focuses on the already/not-yet reality of Christ’s kingdom in the world, critics contend that it overspiritualizes passages of Scripture and can appear to be pessimistic about the historical progress of the Gospel changing the world, minimizing the Old Testament visions of earthly renewal.
Postmillennialism
Postmillennialism blends the earthly and spiritual themes of both historic premillennialism and amillennialism. This view teaches that Jesus Christ will return after a prolonged period of gospel prosperity during which the kingdom of God advances and transforms the world, resulting in widespread obedience to Christ throughout the nations. Postmillennialism strongly emphasizes the Great Commission and the biblical promises that anticipate the worldwide triumph of Christ’s kingdom.
Like amillennialism, postmillennialism affirms that Christ is presently reigning as king and that Satan is presently bound, limiting his influence in the world. However, like premillennialism, postmillennialism shares an understanding of real historical fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies. The binding of Satan enables the Gospel to succeed in the earth in a progressive, visible way, leading to the discipling of nations and the growth of Christian truth, ethics, and worship throughout the world. Old Testament prophecies of peace, justice, and the nations being filled with the knowledge of the Lord are understood as finding substantial fulfillment in history (such as through missionary activity and resulting societal transformation), rather than only communicating spiritual realities. While sin and unbelief are not fully eradicated until Christ’s second coming, evil is progressively restrained as Christ’s lordship is acknowledged throughout the earth. Some postmillennialists in history have held to a view of a literal thousand-year reign of gospel prosperity throughout the earth, while more modern postmillennialism views the Millennium not as a literal thousand years but as the church age—a long, indeterminate era during which Christ’s reign is increasingly manifested in history prior to Christ’s second coming.
“Without denying the present reality of sin, suffering, opposition, and the call to perseverance, postmillennialism encourages the Church to labor expectantly for the expanding kingdom.”
Like amillennialism, postmillennialism is closely tied to covenant theology and the unity of redemptive history. The Abrahamic promise of the nations being blessed by the people of God have fueled many postmillennialists to missionary expansion and cultural reform. Postmillenialism is often associated with robust doctrine of Christ’s kingship over every aspect of life, motivating efforts in education, social reform, and global missions. Despite this, critics of postmillennialism warn that it undermines the clear biblical teaching that Christians should expect suffering and persecution until Christ comes. It is often accused of being excessively optimistic and focused on cultural reform.
Why Your Millennial View is Important
While it is tempting for Christians to think that what particular view they hold concerning the Millennium is unimportant and irrelevant to their life as a Christian, in fact, each millennial view frames the present age in distinct ways that shape Christian expectations and practice. The four major views of the Millennium differ not merely in their particular view of how to understand Revelation 20, but more profoundly in the broader theological vision for understanding Christ’s reign, the mission of the Church, and the meaning of history itself.
A Christian’s understanding of the Millennium inevitably informs how he views the world, the Church, and his own calling within God’s redemptive plan for history. Views that anticipate a sharp discontinuity between the church age and Christ’s future kingdom tend to emphasize separation from the world and mere endurance of persecution, while views that stress the present reign of Christ encourage active engagement with the world in worship and mission. Eschatology is not merely a topic for dinner conversations about speculative theology, but instead a formative lens through which Christians interpret present suffering and their role in the mission of God.
Christ Church Bellingham’s elders predominately hold to a postmillennial vision. This perspective offers a compelling account of the Christian life rooted in confidence in Christ’s present rule over the world and in the power of the gospel. Without denying the present reality of sin, suffering, opposition, and the call to perseverance, postmillennialism encourages the Church to labor expectantly for the expanding kingdom. That means we give ourselves to the ordinary means of grace (word and sacraments and prayer), trusting that through them Christ advances his kingdom. It means, too, that fueled by those graces, we labor in our homes, workplaces, and institutions for God’s purposes, proclaiming his gospel and seeking the good of our communities wherever we’re planted.
In my next article I will make the biblical and theological case for postmillennialism and its hopeful vision for the world in light of the certainty of Christ’s reign and God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises.
