What Is Premillennialism?

What is “Premillennialism?” What is the difference between other dispensationalist’s views?

What is the Millennium?

The Millennium is a literal thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth but some believe its figurative and not specifically one thousand years. The Millennium is the period of a thousand years during which Jesus Christ will reign on earth and will include a period of general righteousness and happiness, especially in the indefinite future. Some point to Revelation 20:4-5 where it says, “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. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection” but “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” (Rev 20:6). After “the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison” (Rev 20:7) and after Satan’s release he will “for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 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” (Rev 20:8b-9). With this in mind, is the premillennial view a biblical one?

What is Premillennialism?

What is the premillennialism view? Is it found in the Bible? Premillennialism is the belief that Jesus Christ’s second coming will occur before His millennial kingdom is established where the millennial kingdom is a literal kingdom of one thousand years where Jesus Christ will reign on earth and will rule with the saints, but of course, over the saints, however, we must use caution when interpreting biblical views because “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1st Pet 1:20-21). We cannot look at Israel and the church in the same way because there are certain passages that deal with promises made to Israel that do not apply to the church and premillennialists see passages like Revelation 20:1-7 as describing the future fulfillment of that promise with Christ on the throne but we must be careful to not force meaning into Scripture (which is called eisegesis).

Differing Views of the Millennium

There are several views that are held by Christians about the coming of Jesus Christ and His reign on earth. For one thing, there is the premillennial view that Jesus will come before His millennial kingdom begins. Then there is the a millennialism view where there is no literal one thousand year reign of Christ at all as many seen in Revelation 20 but rather it is a figurative time of Christ’s reign. It is called the millennial or nonmillennial view. The little letter “a” affixed to any word general means “no” so an a millennial view says that there is no millennia at all just as someone who’s atypical is not typical at all. There is also the postmillennial view where Christ comes after the millennium. Some people interpret Paul’s writings about this when he suggested that all of God’s enemies will have been subdued when Christ returns and then the gospel will be successful worldwide when “the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power” (1st Cor 15:24). Which of these is right? Does it matter if we’re wrong about them?

The Panmillennist

What is a “panmillennist?” The panmillennist is simply my view; it will all pan out in the end and it doesn’t matter what view of the millennium a person holds to; Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the world in righteousness. The Apostle John shows us what the most important view is and that’s the belief that “he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” (Rev 1:7). That much we know for certain. When that will occur, nobody knows. People can wrangle over whether they hold to the a millennialism view, a premillennialism view or a postmillennial view. I simple refuse to enter such territory to debate who is right and who is wrong because in the end, as a panmilleniast, it will all pan out. I just need to make sure I’ve repented and trusted in Christ.

Conclusion

If you are ready for Christ’s return then that’s all that matters. That means that you’ve had a time in your life where you’ve humbled yourself before God and repented or turned away and forsaken your sins and then you’ve put your trust in Christ “For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 10:11). Have you? If not, I can predict your future, well, the Bible actually does, and you can read about it for yourself in Revelation 20:12-15 and Revelation 21:8. You can be sure of this; it will not pan out well for you in the end (Heb 9:27).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.