Premillennialism
The Millennium • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Premillennialism
Premillennialism
Summary
Summary
The second coming of Christ will take place before the millennial kingdom begins. The millennial kingdom will be a physical kingdom on earth over which Christ will rule with His people.
Distinctives
Distinctives
An earthly kingdom for a distinct period of time.
Some understand this to be a literal 1000 years while others see it as period of time that is unknown.
The millennial kingdom will be marked by unprecedented peace, progress and prosperity.
Satan will be bound at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.
Satan will be loosed at the end of the millennial kingdom, but will be be finally defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
The millennial kingdom will be bookended by physical resurrections.
The first resurrection will be of those who died in Christ up to that point in history (see Rev. 20:4-5a)
The second resurrection will be of those who died apart from Christ after which they will be condemned to the lake of fire (See Rev. 20:12).
We can see that John does not explicitly name two resurrections, but it is implied. Verse 5 reads, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. The rest of the dead seems to make clear that there was another group of dead people who were raised, who are described in verse 4. So, the first resurrection mentioned in verse 5 is speaking of those who came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Then another group is raised after the thousand years.
The saints of God will reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom after they are resurrected.
The final judgement of the unrighteous dead will occur at the conclusion of the millennial kingdom and after they are raised from the dead.
The eternal state will begin after the final judgement.
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism
History
History
Anglicanism in Great Britain during the nineteenth century became apostate, and some who left formed the Plymouth Brethren.
Two prominent leaders and teachers emerged: Benjamin Wills Newton and John Nelson Darby.
During a series of study retreats in 1831, the Brethren defined their eschatology:
they took a futurist approach Revelation.
they rejected the yers/day theory - a method of interpreting Bible prophecy where a single "day" mentioned in prophetic text is understood to represent a whole year of actual time.
they declared established churches to be apostate.
Darby introduced the pretribulation rapture of the church which argued for a great parenthesis of prophetic time. which was to be understood to take place between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks of Daniel 9.
By 1840, Darby had constructed an elaborate dispensational system which divided history into distinct era or dispensations in order to trace God’s changing redemptive plan.
Fundamental to Darby’s interpretation of the Bible was the conviction that God had two separate plans and peoples in the divine plan of redemption: Israel and the church
Darby believed that Jesus would work with only one people at a time, so he insisted that Jesus must rapture the church before He would restart the prophetic clock and resume His dealings wit the Jews.
Darby made several trips to North America between 1862-77, and his reception was mixed. Some saw dispensationalism as dangerous but others embraced it.
The first American Bible and Prophetic Conference was held in New York City in 1878 followed by others between 1886-1918. At first the conference speakers and attenders represented a variety of premillennialist views, but came to be dominated by dispensationalists.
Distinctives
Distinctives
The church and Israel are distinct
A hermeneutic of literal interpretation to all areas of Scripture including Old Testament prophecy
In other words, the New Testament reaffirms and does not reinterpret the Old Testament
Unconditional promises to national Israel on the Old Testament must be fulfilled with national Israel.
Much of Bible prophecy awaits fulfillment. Particularly significant is the belief that the seventieth week of Dan 9:27 will occur in the future. This week will be a seven year period during which the the antichrist will be active and an intense time of suffering will occur on the earth.
The rapture will occur before the tribulation takes place. In other words, the people of God will be rescued from the earth to meet Christ in the air, thus avoiding this intense time of suffering and persecution.
At the rapture, the first resurrection (the resurrection of the righteous dead) will take place and they along with those in Christ who are living will meet Christ in the air.
Christ will return after the seven year tribulation and establish a literal millennial kingdom for 1000 years.
Satan will be bound at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.
Satan will be loosed at the end of the millennial kingdom, but will ultimately be defeated at the battle of Armageddon.
At the second resurrection, the unrighteous dead will be raised and condemned to the lake of fire with Satan and his evil forces for eternity.
The eternal state will come after the final judgement.
Historic Premillennialism
Historic Premillennialism
Why “Historic”?
Why “Historic”?
To distinguish it from dispensationalism
Claims to be the position held by the early church (1st-3rd centuries)
Bishop Papias of Hierapolis (AD 60-130): according to the historian Eusebius believed there would be a physical kingdom over which Christ would reign after He returned to the earth.
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon (lived from 130-202) was a student of Polycarp, who was a student of the Apostle John and Irenaeus believed Christ would return to reign over an earthly kingdom.
It should be noted that after centuries of Jesus not returning, postmillennialism became the dominant view of the millennium, but after centuries of difficulties experienced by the church amillennialism became popular. While this does not account for all the eschatological developments over the course of history, it does, I suggest, remind us of the importance of doing our best allow the Scriptures to define our positions and not our experiences.
Distinctives
Distinctives
The return of Christ is not imminent. We cannot know the day or hour but there are signs (see Matt 24:36-37)
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Most dispensationalists believe that the return of Christ will occur in stages. The first stage will be the rapture of the church before the tribulation begins. There will be no warning or sign to indicate when the rapture will occur. It is this idea that leads some dispensationalists to believe the return of Christ is imminent.
The signs mentioned in Matthew 24 and 2 Thess 2 are imminent. No one knows when those signs will come to pass.
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
A literal millennium that follows a prophesied engrafting of the nations. (see Gen. 12:1-3; Roman 11:11-36 and its use of Ezekiel 37; Galatians 3:29; Eph 2:14)
Old Testament prophecy relates to the nation of Israel, but it was always God’s intention to bring the nations to Himself through Israel.
The engrafting of the nations took place then and continues to occur today.
Some historical premillennialists believe in replacement theology, which is the belief that the church has replaced Israel as God’s people. Other historic premillennialists believe that while the church has been grafted into Israel, there remains some yet-to-be-fulfilled promises for the nation of Israel.
There will be one return of Christ which will include the rapture of the church.
It should be noted that all the positions believe in a rapture (though some do not use that terminology). All believe that Christ will gather and rescue His people.
Historic premillennialists believe the rapture will take place immediately after the first resurrection. (see 1 Thess. 4:16–18)
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The word meet in verse 17 is a military term. It is sometimes used to describe what a kingdom would do when their king returned after his victory in battle. The would meet him before he arrived back to their home, and return with him. This helps to describe what the rapture is in this eschatological view. The resurrected righteous dead along with those who are alive when Jesus returns, raptured to Him and returning with him to earth to reign with Him in the millennial kingdom.
Interpretation of Rev. 20:1-10
Interpretation of Rev. 20:1-10
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Five chronological markers
Five chronological markers
There is a chronological sequence of some of the events in chapters 19-21 of Revelation.
The return of Jesus described in Rev. 19:11-21 takes place before the new heavens and new earth become reality.
The question becomes where does the vision of Rev. 20:1-10 belong?
1. The fate of Satan (1-3)
1. The fate of Satan (1-3)
verse 1 - an angel comes down from heaven with a key to the bottomless pit
that is followed by the statement in verse 2 that Satan is locked up in the abyss for a thousand years
Verse 3 makes two statements about Satan
Satan is kept locked up in the abyss until the thousand years are ended.
Satan will be released from the abyss for a little while at the end of the thousand year period.
There seems to be a clear chronological progression described here: There is a period during which Satan will deceive, followed by a thousand-year period during which he is rendered impotent because he is locked away in the abyss, followed by release and final activity.
2. The grammatical support for two resurrections (4-5)
2. The grammatical support for two resurrections (4-5)
The conjunction until in verse 5 is either used as a geographical or temporal marker. Here, it is clearly used as a temporal marker.
It is being used as a marker of continuous extent of time up to a point (BDAG) and not a marker of geographical movement.
This means that there is a temporal sequence between the resurrection of the martyrs and the faithful believers who reign with Jesus during the thousand year period and the resurrection of the unrepentant.
3. The sequential relationship between the banishment of Satan to the abyss and his banishment to the lake of fire (3, 10)
3. The sequential relationship between the banishment of Satan to the abyss and his banishment to the lake of fire (3, 10)
The description of Satan’s activity on the earth after his release from the abyss is described in verses 7-10.
His final banishment to the lake of fire clearly comes after he is released from the abyss, which is explicitly said to occur after the thousand year period is concluded.
There is a temporary banishment of Satan to the abyss (v. 3) and a permanent banishment of Satan to the lake of fire (v. 10), separated by the thousand-year period (v. 7).
4. The evolution of Satan’s work of deception
4. The evolution of Satan’s work of deception
The thousand-year period of 20:1-7 is framed by the unrelenting deception activity of Satan, with the obvious implication that during the thousand-year period, Satan is prevented from deceiving.
Back in chapter 19:20, we are told that Satan used the Beast and the false prophet to deceive the inhabitants of the earth, who were those who did not follow the Lamb.
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
When the thousand-year period is ended and Satan is released from the abyss, he will again deceive the nations (v. 8,10).
5. The chronology of the resurrections
5. The chronology of the resurrections
Verse 5 references the first resurrection which suggests a chronological sequence between a first resurrection and a second resurrection, separated by the thousand-year period.
The first resurrection describes the beginning of the thousand-year period, which is connected to the martyrs and those who are blessed and holy who share in the first resurrection. (v. 6)
The implied second resurrection must be the event described in verses 11-15, when the unbelievers whose names were not written in the book of life will face God’s judgement before the great white throne.
