I. PREMILLENNIALISM
A. Millennialism is an ancient concept that goes back to the Jews and their expectations for the Messiah.
1. The Jews expected that the Messiah would come and establish an earthly kingdom at Jerusalem that would overpower all other nations. After the period of the Kingdom of the Messiah on earth, they expected the destruction of earth and the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of God.
2. They determined that the Kingdom of the Messiah would last one-thousand years by giving a literal interpretation of Psalm 90:4, “For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday when it passes by.” They combined this with the creation account of Genesis to say that the six days of creation corresponded to six-thousand years of the world’s existence. The seventh day (Sabbath) then corresponded to a final one-thousand year period on earth in which there would be peace.
3. These expectations by the Jews for an earthly kingdom are evident in the records of the New Testament. Some Jews even tried to take Jesus by force to make Him the king (John 6:15), but they rejected Him when He disappointed their false expectations.
B. Some of the early Christians adopted the Jewish views of the millennial reign of Christ on earth.
1. This belief is known as “Chiliasm,” a term that comes from the Greek word meaning thousand.
2. Evidence of this belief is found in the writings of some early Christians such as Corinthes in the first century and Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus in the second century.
3. These early Christians are often cited by modern Premillennialists as proof that Premillennialism was the doctrine of the early church.
a. However, we must keep in mind that these men were not inspired writers. Regardless of when these men lived and wrote, if their writings conflict with the inspired word of God, then their beliefs were held in error.
b. Also understand that their beliefs were far different from modern Premillennialism and that their writings do not represent the majority of early Christian beliefs.
4. All traces of Chiliasm were gone from the church by the third century, and the idea of a millennial reign of Christ on earth was not advocated again until the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
C. The various modern beliefs regarding a millennial reign of Christ are categorized as follows:
1. Amillennialism is the belief that there will not be a literal one-thousand year reign of Christ;
2. Postmillennialism is the belief that Christ will return to earth after a one-thousand year reign;
3. Premillennialism is the belief that Christ will return to earth before a one-thousand year reign.
D. There are two varieties of Premillennialism: Historic and Dispensational.
1. Historic Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return to earth after a “Great Tribulation.”
2. Dispensational Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return to earth and secretly remove all believers (Rapture) and take them to heaven. After this, a seven-year period of Great Tribulation will pass on the earth when many Jews will be converted to Christ. Then Christ will return to earth again (actually a third coming) to bind Satan and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem for one-thousand years.
3. Dispensational Premillennialism is the most common form and was made popular by John Darby, C.I. Scofield, and others. This form is the doctrine advocated in the book The Late Great Planet Earth (Hal Lindsey, 1970) and the popular Left Behind fictional series of books.
II. REVELATION 20:1-6
A. Premillennialists believe that this text is the foremost proof for the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. In fact, this is the only mention of a thousand year reign in the Bible. Without this, the doctrine has no basis at all. Therefore, let us consider the text to see if the doctrine is supported.
1. The key elements of Premillennialism are:
a. Christ’s second coming;
b. The establishment of an earthly kingdom;
c. The return of the throne of David;
d. The Jews being gathered back to Palestine;
e. An endurance of one-thousand years.
2. The only one of these elements that is mentioned at all in the text is the one-thousand years.
B. Regarding the one-thousand years of this text, consider the whole context of the book of Revelation.
1. In Revelation 1:1, John limited the whole book with these two qualifications:
a. The things revealed would take place shortly.
b. These things were “signified” to John, meaning that they were communicated in signs and figures rather than literal language.
2. Therefore, any interpretation of Revelation must have a relevant application to the time when it was written and must recognize that the figures used represent something other than themselves.
C. With this context in mind, we must understand the elements of Revelation 20 to be figurative.
1. Just as there is a figurative dragon bound with a figurative chain, thrown into a figurative abyss, and locked up with a figurative lock and figurative key, so also the thousand years is figurative.
2. The thousand years in this text is simply a figure that represents an unspecified period of time.
a. The number one-thousand in Scripture suggests fullness and completeness (compare to Deut. 7:9; 1Chron. 16:15; Psalm 50:10).
b. The brevity of this study does not permit an explanation of Revelation, but it concerns the period of Roman persecution of the church. A proper interpretation of the thousand years must fit this context.
D. By the accepted rules of interpretation (hermeneutics), the figures of Revelation 20 cannot represent a literal one-thousand year reign of Christ on earth because this interpretation conflicts with plain passages.
1. Jesus said plainly, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
2. Jesus taught His disciples that His kingdom would begin within their lifetimes (Mark 9:1).
3. Peter declared that Jesus began His reign on the throne of David when He ascended to heaven after His resurrection (Acts 2:22-36). Paul wrote likewise (Eph. 1:20-23; 1Cor. 15:25).
4. Paul described the kingdom of Christ as existing already (Col. 1:13). John agreed (Rev. 1:6).
5. Paul indicated that Jesus would not return to the earth itself but rather that all Christians would “meet the Lord in the air” (1Thess. 4:15-18).
6. Peter wrote that the second coming of Jesus will be concurrent with the destruction of the earth (2Pet. 3:4, 10-12). Paul wrote likewise (2Thess. 1:6-10).
7. These are not the only conflicts, but they are sufficient to demonstrate that the Premillennialist interpretation of Revelation 20 must be incorrect.
III. THE IMPACT OF PREMILLENNIALISM
A. Premillennialism completely changes the meaning of Christ’s coming and devalues the church.
1. According to the doctrine, Christ first came to earth to establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, but He failed when the Jews rejected Him and set up the church as a temporary substitute. This is in contradiction to the plain teachings of the Bible, which say that Christ executed God’s eternal plan (Eph. 1:3-6; 3:4-11; Acts 2:23).
2. Worst of all, Premillennialism makes the cross of Christ an afterthought of God. By this teaching, Christ did not come to die for our sins, but rather to be accepted by men and to reign on earth. Yet the plain teaching of the Bible is that Christ came to die (Matt. 20:28; John 3:16; 12:27; 17:4; Acts 2:23; 1Cor. 15:3; Heb. 2:14).
B. Premillennialism demands that the Jews receive special treatment because they are God’s chosen nation.
1. Because of this belief, influential Premillennialist leaders demand that all nations are bound to respect the Jews’ right to Palestine and to help the Jews possess it.
a. “To stand against Israel is to stand against God. We believe that history and scripture prove that God deals with nations in relation to how they deal with Israel.” – Jerry Falwell, 1981
b. “We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was ordained by God. We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.” – Pat Robertson, Why Evangelical Christians Support Israel, 2004
2. In truth, fleshly Israel was the nation of God (Ex. 19:6), but that status has been transferred to spiritual Israel, the church (1Pet. 2:9-10; Rom. 9:6-8).
3. There is now no distinction in God’s eyes between Jews and Gentiles. In the church, which is the kingdom of Christ on earth, all are equal (Rom. 2:11; Eph. 2:11-16; Gal. 3:27-29). God loves the Jews just as He loves the Gentiles, and He wants all of them to be saved through Christ Jesus. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).
***These two lessons are hardly sufficient to demonstrate the influence of Zionism and Premillennialism on the world. Further study is recommended. Please understand that no animosity toward Jews is intended. This is simply to demonstrate the conflict between the divine plan of the glorious gospel of Christ and the false ideas of men.***
