[Note: One of the most important things an understanding of worldview brings to us is a clear picture of the outer limits of the various belief systems that exist in the world. By understanding how a belief system answers the three worldview questions (Who is God? What is man? What is salvation?), we know what worldview system it belongs to and how to evaluate it for truth. However, there are also other questions, beyond the three essential worldview questions, that come up as people attempt to understand and live out their faith. The answers to these “other” questions are important – some even very important. However, as important as they might be, they are not essential to the faith. People can answer them differently, and even get the answers wrong, and still be a part of the faith. There are many of these kinds of questions in the Christian faith, and it is typically these non-essential questions that create the conflict and division that exist within the faith itself. In fact, these kinds of differences are the main reason why there are different denominations. The purpose of this series is to explain those differences in order to give Christians a basis upon which to agree to disagree in love. These kinds of differences may cause various divisions, but they should never cause Christians to reject one another.]
What is Eschatology?
One of the more fascinating theological topics that the Bible discusses is eschatology – the study of “last things.” People are fascinated to find out what the Bible has to say about how the world will end and the signs of the end times.
One of the problems we run into doing a study like that, though, is that there is no place in the Bible that clearly and specifically lays out a time line for us. Beyond that, there is not any single place that definitively spells out what the end will be like. It is clear that there will be an end and that there are signs associated with that end, but we can’t just go to a single passage of Scripture to discover what that looks like.
The various eschatological points of view, then, have to be created based on something else. If we want to have a clear sense of how to go about studying this topic, we need to understand the various sources of the different points of view.
There are actually three basic approaches people use in their attempt to interpret what the Bible teaches about the end times. Each of the three approaches uses its own unique source as a foundation upon which to build. One approach is to use secular philosophy as a foundation for its approach to understanding the end times. This is what we see in Postmillennialism. Another approach uses many different passages in the Bible to construct an end time theology. This is what we see in the various Premillennial views. The third approach bases its point of view on the type of literature that most eschatological passages are based upon – apocalyptic literature. This is the approach of Amillennialism. As we explore the various possibilities, we will look at these three foundational approaches and see how they are expressed in the various millennial views.
Why Millennial Views?
It might be noted that while each of the foundational approaches used to study the end times are unique unto themselves, all of them are framed around the idea of a millennium (1000 years). This does not mean that they all believe in a literal millennium, but the various points of view are framed using that motif.
In actuality, the word “millennium” is not found in the Bible at all. The word is derived from the Latin word mille, which is simply the number 1000. The biblical reference that deals with a 1000 year period simply uses the Greek word for 1000 and is found only in Revelation 20, where it is used six times. So, the idea of centering the discussion about the end times around the “Millennium” came about because Premillennialism is based upon a belief in a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth, and the other points of view were basically forced to differentiate themselves from it using the millennial motif.
The Variety of Eschatological Beliefs
Postmillennialism
Postmillennialism is the belief that Christ’s second coming will occur after the “Millennium.” In this approach, the Millennium is believed to be a period of time when Christian ethics increasingly prosper. Here, the idea of a millennium in understood in symbolic terms, not as a literal 1000 years.
Postmillennialists believe that in the first century, Jesus Christ, through his preaching and redemptive work, established his kingdom on earth. At that time, he gave the church the message and the power of the Holy Spirit that was necessary to take the gospel to all nations. With that in play, it is believed that the gospel began its advancement at that time, and will continue until the majority of people on earth are saved. With the successful advance of the gospel, faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will ultimately fill the earth. When that happens, Postmillennialists believe that Jesus Christ will return visibly, bodily, and gloriously to end history. That will be followed by the resurrection of human beings and the final judgment.
While this seems, on the surface, to have a biblical thrust, it is actually based on a naturalistic worldview foundation. Naturalistic philosophy sees mankind as continually evolving to higher and higher levels with the potential to ultimately achieve some level of perfection. This concept is understood to play out not only in a physical sense in the human person, but also in society. Thus, earthly societies will ultimately advance to the point that earth becomes a Utopia. It is the way many theologically liberal Christians have tapped into the Utopian beliefs of Socialism and Communism.
As it turns out, the groups that primarily latched onto Postmillennial eschatology were theologically liberal American Protestants in the 19th and 20th centuries. These are people who placed a primary emphasis on various expressions of the Social Gospel. Belief in Postmillennialism began to dramatically wain after WWII when it became rather clear that mankind was not moving toward the kind of Utopian existence that this point of view proposed. In modern times it actually has relatively few adherents.
Premillennialism
Premillennialism takes its cue from the Bible verses that reference the Millennium in the twentieth chapter of the book of Revelation. This is the belief that before God brings the world to an end, Christ will return and physically reign on earth for 1000 years. This reign will be a Golden Age in which peace exists on the earth. Along with a belief in the 1000 year reign of Christ, Premillennialists also generally believe that there will be a period of “tribulation” where Satan will wreak havoc among humanity.
While all Premillennialists believe in this 1000 year reign of Christ, there are several different versions of it that have been put forth over the years. These various versions generally fall into two major categories.
Historic Premillennialism (Posttribulational Premillennialism)
Most people who believe in Historic, or Classic, Premillennialism believe that Christ will return for his 1000 year reign on earth after “the tribulation.” This view affirms that there will be a period of tribulation where the church is heavily persecuted. Following that, in God’s timing, the church will be raptured (taken up) from the earth and will meet Christ in the air. They will then escort him back to earth where he will vanquish all evil and institute a 1000 year rule before God ends the world and initiates his final judgment. People who follow this theology generally believe that the church and Israel are one and the same – that is, the church is the New Israel (the chosen people of God) based on the New Covenant.
Dispensational Premillennialism (Pretribulational Premillennialism)
Dispensational Premillennialism is based on the belief that history has been divided into dispensations (eras). Over the years, there have been disputes among various adherents of the dispensation movement as to how many dispensations there are, but all of them take the same basic approach to understanding end time history.
Dispensationalists also take the view that Israel and the Church are completely distinct entities, and that the nation of Israel will be saved and restored to a place of preeminence in the Millennium. As such, Israel will have a special function in the Millennium that is different from that of the church. It is people who believe in this approach who are most outspoken that America must defend the nation of Israel in order to be on God’s side, and who promote the belief that anyone who is against Israel is against God.
Dispensational Premillennialists believe that when Christ returns, he will rapture the church to heaven immediately prior to a seven year period of tribulation that will be led by an evil person called the Antichrist. Following this seven year tribulation, Christ will return to earth again, with his raptured saints, defeat the Antichrist, and set up his 1000 year reign.
Dispensationalism was started in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), a leader of the Plymouth Brethren. It was initially popularized in American churches through the Scofield Reference Bible, and in academic circles by Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952). The beliefs were spread more fully in the popular culture through Hal Lindsey’s 1970s bestseller, The Late, Great Planet Earth, and by Tim Lahaye’s Left Behind series of books.
The Theological Basis for Premillennialism
As was mentioned before, there is no single place a person can go in the Bible to demonstrate that Premillennialism is “the true way” to interpret the end times. As was noted, the very concept of a millennium is only found in the 20th chapter of Revelation. All of the ideas surrounding this view, then, are theological constructs based upon the process of combining and reconciling passages of Scripture from various places in the Bible. Those who thought up the idea of Premillennialism had to cherry pick passages of Scripture that they believed dealt with the end time and put them together to form their approach. This is why there are so many different versions of this point of view.
Amillennialism
Amillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that the “thousand years” mentioned in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a description of a literal reign of Christ on earth. It rejects the idea that the end times revolve around Christ reigning on earth for a literal 1000 years.
Amillennialism holds that Christ’s reign is spiritual in nature, and that in God’s timing Christ will return and execute his final judgment, then establish a permanent reign in the new heaven and new earth. Amillennialists consider that “the Millennium,” as a symbolic concept, started with the resurrection of Christ and will end when Christ returns.
The term “Amillennial” was actually coined by those who hold premillennial views as a way to characterize Amillennialism using their own paradigm as a standard. Rather than characterizing Amillennialism based on its own characteristics, they chose a way that compared it to Premillennialism.
Amillennialism has its origin as an expression of Jewish apocalyptic literature. Jewish apocalypse is an actual genre of writing that developed in Jewish culture after the Babylonian captivity. In a broad sense, it refers, to a group of books written between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D. In addition to the biblical apocalyptic writings, there are also a number of writings in this genre that are extra-biblical.
The word Apocalypse is from the Greek and means “revelation.” This word is the actual Greek name of the last book of the Bible (thus, the literal meaning of the name of the book of Revelation is “The Apocalypse). The word apocalypse actually means “an unveiling of things not previously known.” This refers specifically to things that could not have been known had God not revealed them. This genre of literature focuses upon a writer’s visions of the end times as they were revealed to him by some heavenly messenger.
The most prominent, and fully developed apocalyptic writing in the Old Testament is the Book of Daniel. Apocalyptic elements can also be found in the books of Joel, Zechariah, and Isaiah.
The imagery in apocalyptic writing typically portrays a dualistic point of view where God and Satan do battle. The stories in this genre show how the power of Satan controls this evil age and greatly distresses those who are faithfully following God through both human and demonic agents. But it also portrays that Satan will ultimately be defeated by God’s direct intervention, after which time he will create a perfect new world order. The imagery used in this writing is generally strange and very dramatic using colors, numbers, strange creatures, and visions in symbolic ways to help readers imagine the spiritual war that people must fight as they live life. It also serves to help believers see the spiritual battle that is going on behind the scenes in the spiritual world.
We Can Agree to Disagree
Most people who have an opinion concerning which millennial perspective they believe is correct. Additionally, most have a very strong attachment to their view. However, with relatively few exceptions, this attachment is not because they have done a systematic study of the various possibilities in order to determine what position best reflects the biblical teaching. Rather, is tends to be because they were only taught one way to understand this topic by people they respected.
As we look at the big picture, however, we must recognize that there is no single place in the Bible where a case is laid out for a definitive understanding of the end times. That being the case, it is necessary to also recognize that one’s eschatological beliefs are necessarily based upon a theological construct. The truth is, very few people have the biblical knowledge to do the kind of theological research necessary to sort this out, so they depend on others to teach them. That is not a problem if they are taught in a way that allows them to see all of the possibilities so they can make their choice based on an honest understanding. Typically, however, that is not the case. Usually when people are taught an approach by someone they respect, they tend to believe it simply because they don’t know anything else – most not even realizing that there are other legitimate possibilities.
This explanation is not meant, in any way, to be dismissive of any particular point of view. It is only meant to give some perspective on the various eschatological possibilities, and to encourage people to come to an understanding of “why” they decide on one view or another.
In the case of eschatology, as is the case with many other non-essential biblical doctrines, many Christians use their personal beliefs about this topic as a test of fellowship with other believers. And while the topic of eschatology is very important, it is not important enough to become a valid wedge that causes a break in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. As with all other non-essential theological beliefs, a person can be dead wrong about eschatology and still be considered a believer. One’s eschatology is not a necessary component of salvation.
Christian fellowship should always be based upon the understanding that everyone who knows a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ is a spiritual brother or sister in Christ. Non-essential theological beliefs should never be a barrier to fellowship. It is a wonderful thing to study the various non-essential beliefs as fully as possible, and to practice what one believes to be the true teaching of the Bible. In the process of doing that, however, it should never become a barrier to fellowship.
© 2018 Freddy Davis