The Millennium

Overview

Within Christian circles, Eschatology has 3 primary view points that have influence from Revelation 20 and your hermeneutical view. Revelation mentions a 1,000 year reign of Christ. Is this “millennial reign” a future literal 1,000 years, a spiritual reference, or is the “1,000” referring to a long period and the reign is now? That’s where pre-mil, ah (or no)-mil, or post-mil primarily differ. Then within those big views are many sub-views that can get really weird and throw you off.

Before the 1800s Christians were primarily post-mil. Then, things shifted driven in large part by preachers who thought they saw a prophecy fulfilled in current events (all were wrong) and pre-mil started creeping in along with a new hermeneutic, dispensationalism. In the 1970s-1980s along came all the “left behind” series which solidified the pre-mil position in today’s culture. I mean, how could Kirk Cameron be wrong?

Now we are seeing a resurgence of post-mil believers as it is an eschatology that makes so much more sense as we understand the Bible holistically. God is not dependent on people that reject Christ rebuilding a temple to come back. Jesus is Israel and His Church is Israel. The Bible is clear.

Having said all that, no matter your eschatological position, Jesus is coming back in a final consummation. I don’t have to prepare for anything, Christ is in control and Christ in me is greater than he who is in the world. And I especially don’t need to be watching some “watchtower” show to tell me a chip in my hand is bad or that Russia is the Bear in Revelation. Yikes. We cannot pray that God is pre, ah, or post mil. What we can do is fulfill the great commission and know the signs of the final coming, which are all around.

I was once pre-mil because that’s what everyone around me was.If you want the best post-mil preaching you will ever hear from a young, unbelievably articulate theologian, watch the sermons from Brian noted here.