However, there are some significant details about Christ's return where many Bible-believing Christians disagree. These peripheral items may seem unimportant, but they actually have a practical impact on some important questions:
--What is the destination of the physical elements of this world?
--->In light of that, should I care about the environment?
--->Also, does my job have significance as more than just a paycheck?
--Does God have a special plan at the end of time for the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, or the Jewish people?
--->In light of that, should I support politically the modern-day state of Israel?
So, let's consider the three main options. These options can be most clearly distinguished by how they interpret the following passage:
"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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 have part in the first resurrection. 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." (Revelation 20:1-6, emphasis added)
Notice that repeated phrase, "thousand years"? That's the millennium. The three main options for interpreting this language are as follows:
Amillennialism. This view holds that the millennium described above should be understood as a metaphor for God's kingdom rule in history (either after the cross or after Christ's return, depending on the theologian). We should not expect a literal millennium of Christ's rule on earth between his return and Judgment Day. Instead, we should expect that Christ will return, followed immediately by the resurrection of all people and Christ's judgment of all people, followed by the "new heavens and new earth" (spoken of in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21). (This has been the majority view in the church since the fourth century. The name "amillennial" signifies "not millennial" - as in, there will be no literal millennium.)
Here's a "timeline" of amillennialism in picture form. The cloud represents Jesus' return, and the throne represents Judgment Day. (Giving credit where it's due - these three pictures come from our friend Craig Blomberg. I think he has similar diagrams in his book, From Pentecost to Patmos.)
Premillennialism. This view sees the millennium as a literal period of Christ's rule on this earth. Christ will return, God's people who have died will be resurrected, and Jesus set up the rule of his kingdom (spiritual, social, economic, and political) on this earth. After a long period of time (the "millennium," whether or not it will literally last for one thousand years), the ungodly who have died will be resurrected, Christ will judge all people, and then the "new heavens and new earth" will come. (This was the majority view in the first three centuries of the church, and it has experienced a resurgence in popularity over the past 200 years. The name "premillennial" signifies that Christ will return before the millennium.)
Another "timeline" picture - again, the cloud is Christ's return and the throne is Judgment Day.
Postmillennialism. This view expects the church to usher in the millennium. The Holy Spirit will work through the church to usher in a golden era of the reign of godliness over the whole earth in all areas of life (spiritual, social, economic, and political). After a long period of time (again, the "millennium"), Christ will return, all people will be resurrected, Christ will judge, and then the "new heavens and new earth" will come. (This view has been most popular during times when Christians had high confidence in progress, such as during the Enlightenment or significant missionary movements. Very few Christians today espouse this view. The name "postmillennial" signifies that Christ will return after the millennium.)
Here's "timeline" picture #3.
Clear as mud? Don't care? If you have to reread this section about the three main views on the millennium to understand it, go ahead and do that. It will serve as our foundation as we continue our conversation, and I promise this conversation will eventually have some practical bearing on your life (see the questions above).
But let's just get one thing out of the way - postmillennialism is not the way to go. There is no strong biblical support for this view, and experience tells us the church is not about to usher in a utopian global society. As alluded to above, postmillennialism is a perspective that has had its heyday in Christian communities that have been a little too optimistic about the church without being realistic about the world. It's darn near impossible to believe in postmillennialism in those places in the world that have been wrecked by genocide; ditto in places where the church has eroded significantly. Also, remember my last post about the signs of the end? There were positive and negative signs, an increase of both good and evil on earth. The postmillennial view has to ignore the growth of evil in the world.
So, moving forward, we'll be restricting our conversation to different forms of amillennialism and premillennialism.
Next post: two types of premillennialism.
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