Lesson 10: The Millennium

Ask several students to describe what they wrote for the writing assignment as a way of reviewing the most important aspects of the book of Revelation.

A student should read Revelation 20:1-6 for the group.

This passage describes a specific 1000-year period. It is the last period of human history on the earth before the judgment. The judgment ends all sin and marks the beginning of the new heaven and earth.

In eschatology, this period is called the millennium. According to the passage, those who died in persecution during the tribulation period are resurrected to rule with Christ on the earth. Satan is confined during this time. At the end of that period Satan is released, and there is one more great rebellion of the nations against God.

For other examples of passages about the millennium, see Isaiah 2:2-4 and 60:9-12, and Micah 4:1-3. It does not seem that these prophecies have yet been literally fulfilled in history.

Note to class leader: The course has not yet prepared the students to answer the question below, but the question will introduce the following section.

► Should we expect that this is a literal period of time in the future, or should we understand these passages a different way?

The statements below are from people who lived very early in the church. They show the beliefs that were common in the church during the first few centuries.

Epistle of Barnabas (1st Century)

After 6,000 years of human history Christ will come, destroy the Antichrist, and set up his kingdom.

Polycarp (70-155)

If we live for him in the present age, we will be raised and reign with him in the age to come.

Papias (80-163)

After the resurrection of the saints will be the personal rule of Christ on the earth.

Justin Martyr (100-164)

After the resurrection of the saints they will rule 1,000 years in a literal Jerusalem, then will come the judgment.

Irenaeus (130-202)

The Antichrist will rule 3 1/2 years in Jerusalem, Israel will be restored, after the resurrection of the saints they will rule.

Tertullian (160-220)

After the resurrection will be a literal 1,000-year reign in Jerusalem.

Several Old Testament passages seem to describe the millennium period. We will study some of them in this part of the lesson.

Work together to look at each passage and write down a list of the most important details. Some details for each passage are printed with the references.

Zechariah 8:22, 14:9, 14:16-17

The Lord will be king over all the earth, and no other Lord will exist. All nations will come to Jerusalem to worship.

Isaiah 11:1-10

Christ will provide justice for the poor of the world and kill the wicked. Animals will not be harmful in the “holy mountain.” The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:17

Jerusalem will be called the “throne of the Lord” and all nations will come and will not follow their own ways.

Micah 4:1-5

Jerusalem will be the capital of the world. Nations will go to Jerusalem to learn about God. There will be no more war.

Jeremiah 23:5

Christ will accomplish justice as the ruler of the earth.

Isaiah 60:1-16, 61:6

All nations serve Israel and give offerings to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 65:17-25

Jerusalem will be filled with joy and no more weeping. All will live to an old age. Wild animals will not be harmful.

Christians do not all interpret the passages about the millennium the same way. The differences are not just small details, but radically different concepts.

In this lesson we will look at three different concepts of the millennium.

Note to class leader: Try to avoid having much debate about the three concepts of the millennium as each is studied. The students can debate opinions later, but in this part of the lesson, focus on understanding each concept.

Postmillennialism

The prefix post means “after.” It refers to the idea that the return of Christ will come at the very end of human history, rather than at the beginning of a literal 1,000-year period.

According to this concept, the societies and governments of the world will gradually be completely Christianized by the spread of the gospel and the work of Christian reformers. All nations will become Christian nations. In that sense they will be ruled by Christ through Christian leaders. Satan is confined figuratively in the sense that he cannot stop the gospel from transforming the world.

The period is not necessarily a literal 1,000 years, but simply a very long time. At the end of this period, Christ will return.

Postmillenialism has been believed by some great revivalists and social reformers in the past because they expected the work of the gospel to win complete victory over the world.[1] People who defend this concept say that it is consistent with the way God works with people, desiring to convert them with the gospel rather than coming to take over a rebellious world by force.

Other Christians disagree with postmillennialism because of the apocalyptic Scriptures, which describe Jesus coming with power, destroying evil forces in a great battle after his faithful people have been persecuted. (1) Apocalyptic Scripture does not seem to be consistent with gradual transformation of the world. (2) Apocalyptic Scripture seems to describe Jesus as a conqueror of a rebellious world rather than a king coming to a Christian world. An example of an apocalyptic passage is Revelation 19:11-21.

Another reason for disagreement with postmillennialism is that some of the details of the millennium provided in Scripture do not seem to fit this view, even if they are explained figuratively. For example, what does it mean that the martyrs of the tribulation are resurrected to rule?

Amillennialism

The prefix a means “not,” meaning that there is not a millennium. Those who have this belief do not believe that the millennium is a literal 1,000-year period.

Amillennialists believe that the predictions of the millennium are being fulfilled spiritually in the church. Christ is ruling through the work of the church, and Satan is figuratively confined because he cannot resist the church.

In amillennialism Israel is no longer significant in the plan of God because the church is now the people of God. The promises to Israel of an earthly kingdom are fulfilled spiritually in the church.

The biblical details of the millennium are all interpreted figuratively and spiritually by amillennialists. The promises made to Israel are fulfilled for the church, but spiritually instead of physically. The church rules the nations by evangelizing them.

Amillennialism resembles postmillennialism in some aspects. However, there is at least one large difference. Postmillennialism teaches that many of the prophecies will ultimately be fulfilled literally by the work of the church, such as world peace and the Christianizing of all nations. Amillennialism must find ways to explain that the prophecies are being fulfilled right now in the world as it is.

Some people object to amillennialism because it rejects almost all literal interpretation of the prophecies. This means that those who received the Old Testament promises could not have understood what they meant, even partially.

Another objection to amillennialism is that even when the promises are spiritualized, it is difficult to understand how their fulfillment is already reality, especially the claim that the saints are ruling and Satan is confined.

Premillennialism

The prefix pre means “before,” referring to the idea that Jesus will return to earth before the millennium.

According to premillennialists, Christ will return physically and establish a worldwide kingdom for 1,000 years. They interpret literally the details of the predictions of this period. They believe that Israel is still important in God’s plan. They believe that Jerusalem will be the center of Christ’s kingdom on earth, and that martyred Christians will be resurrected to rule with him.

Note to class leader: Guide the group to discuss how each of the three concepts of the millennium would interpret the details of the passages listed on page 97.

Look at the details listed for each passage (above) and consider what the passage would mean to a postmillennialist, then to an amillennialist, then to a premillennialist.

A good interpretation (1) will be a meaning that was significant to the first hearers and (2) will expect a fulfillment that is truly consistent with the description given by the passage.

[1] Examples are William Booth and Charles Finney.

Theologians have tried to understand the relationship between Israel and the church.

Questions include these: Were people in the Old Testament saved a different way from the people of the New Testament? Do God’s promises to Israel apply to the church also? Is Israel still special in God’s plan?

One explanation of the relationship between Israel and the church has been called “dispensationalism.” Other theologians have disagreed with dispensationalism and have developed an explanation that has sometimes been called “covenant theology.”

Dispensationalism

The term dispensation comes from the concept that there are different periods of human history where God deals differently with people, providing salvation through different means. A period of time when God uses a specific plan of salvation is called a dispensation.

Some theologians divided human history into many dispensations. The two periods that most affect biblical interpretation are based on a distinction between Israel and the church. According to dispensationalism, Old Testament Israelites were saved by following the Mosaic law and system of sacrifices, and New Testament believers are saved by grace through faith. The church is completely distinct from Israel, and God deals with them differently.

Dispensationalists think that because the two systems of salvation are so different, both could not go on simultaneously on earth; therefore, they believe that the church will be removed from the earth for a period of seven years. During the seven years, God will restore the previous system of salvation with Israel. Israel will accept Jesus as their Messiah. After the seven-year period will be a thousand-year period when Jesus will visibly rule in Jerusalem. Dispensationalists believe that all of God’s promises to Israel about land and the kingdom will be literally fulfilled.

Dispensationalism makes the Old Testament less useful for Christians, because they believe it was addressed to Israel under a different dispensation. They use the stories of the Old Testament to illustrate truths, but they often reject any teaching that is based on Old Testament passages and try to follow only the New Testament. They also believe that much of Christ’s teaching in the Gospels does not apply to Christians because it was addressed to Jews.

Many people who do not know the term dispensationalism have been influenced by its ideas. Often people refuse to accept the authority of the Old Testament even though the New Testament writers obviously considered it to be their authority.

Covenant Theology

According to covenant theology, Israel is no longer the people of God and has little significance in eschatology. They believe that because Israel rejected Christ, God has formed a new nation called the church.

The church is now the people of God and receives the promises given to the people of God, including the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament. The nation of Israel has no rights to the promises of God now. In Galatians 6:16, the church is called the “Israel of God.”

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God" (Romans 2:28-29).

"Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.... That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.... There is neither Jew nor Greek.... And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:7-9, 14, 28-29).

1 Peter 2:5-10 describes the church as the priesthood that offers spiritual sacrifices, a holy nation, and the people of God.

Hebrews 12:22 says that believers enter the “heavenly Jerusalem.” Galatians 4:25-26 says that believers enter the Jerusalem that is above instead of the Jerusalem on earth.

Because covenant theology says that the promises made to Israel are transferred to the church, they think that the promises are fulfilled spiritually instead of literally. Promises of the throne of Christ established in Jerusalem, peace, Israel as leader of the world, all nations being taught by Israel, eternal possession of the promised land, and tameness of wild animals must all be spiritualized in order to be fulfilled in the church. The promises are all interpreted to have spiritual meaning instead of literal meaning.

Most people who believe this theology do not believe in a literal rule of Christ on the earth for a thousand-year period. They believe that Christ and the saints rule now spiritually through the influence of the gospel. They believe that the promise to Abraham that his descendants would possess Canaan forever is fulfilled by present believers possessing salvation. They believe that instead of Jerusalem, the church teaches the nations.

A Balanced View

Many theologians today have tried to come to a balance between dispensationalism and covenant theology.

There are problems with dispensationalism. The apostle Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures (the Old Testament) taught salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus said that Nicodemus should already know about the new birth because he was a teacher of the Old Testament (John 3:10). The New Testament says that a believer is now the true Israelite and child of Abraham (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:28-29). Romans 4:1-8 says that we have the same salvation that Abraham and David had. The Old Testament sacrifices did not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). Therefore, it seems wrong to think that the Old Testament and New Testament provided different ways of salvation.

There are also problems with covenant theology. To say that the Old Testament promises are fulfilled spiritually is to allow imaginary interpretations that cannot be proved. Also, this interpretation loses the original meaning. If covenant theology is right, Abraham and others could not understand the promises, even though they thought they did. For example, God promised Abraham that his children would possess land forever, but it really meant that Gentiles would be saved.

In the prophets are numerous promises of restoration and salvation for Israel. An example is Jeremiah 30-31, two chapters that describe God’s promise to regather Israel and rebuild them (30:18), he will be their God (30:22), he will never give up until it is accomplished (30:24), he loves them everlastingly (31:3), he remembers Ephraim as a son and will have mercy on him (32:20), he will write his laws on their heart (32:33), and all will know him and they will be forgiven (32:34). God’s conclusion in 31:35-37 is that it is just as impossible for him to reject Israel for their sin as it is for the sun to fail or for heaven to be measured. Can this passage be consistent with the idea that God will take these promises from Israel and give them to someone else?

Covenant theology denies that Israel is still significant in God’s plan, but the apostle Paul said that Israel as a nation would someday be saved and that God’s covenant with them would be fulfilled (Romans 11:26-29). He is not talking about the church, because throughout this chapter he distinguishes between Israel and the church.

A balanced view of Israel and the church will include an understanding of the various promises in the Old Testament.[1] 

[1]“By his action, through the mediation of his servant, God will realize [bring to reality] the salvation of his covenant people. His people will dwell securely in the land God will give them and exhibit the righteousness of their Lord.”
- William Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology

(1) Promises of Spiritual Blessings

Salvation is by grace and is obtained by repentance and faith by Jew and Gentile in any period of history. The basis of God’s acceptance of an individual was always the same (Isaiah 60:1-7). There is no need for Israel and the church to have separate turns on the earth, because the plan of salvation is the same for both. Romans 4:9-16 says that believers become the children of Abraham because they believe the gospel like he did; therefore, in every age true believers are the children of God. The covenant of grace was given to Israel (Jeremiah 31:33-34). We share in the blessings of Abraham just as any other believer, whether Jew or Gentile. The promises are not taken from Israel but only extended also to Gentiles, and those who are converted are the church.

(2) Promises of Principle

Many promises describe God’s usual way of taking care of the people who are in obedient relationship with him. An example is Psalm 23. These promises show the nature of God revealed in relationship. These principles are the same in any time and place, with Israel or the church.

(3) National Promises

Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews. Someday Israel as a nation will turn to Christ (Romans 11:26). God promised that he would not reject the nation permanently (Jeremiah 31:35-37). He will fulfill his promises to them.

(1) Passage Study: Study the Scripture passages provided in the section of this lesson called “Old Testament Predictions of the Millennium.” Explain what you think fulfillment of the predictions would be, based on your view of the millennium.

(2) Writing Assignment: Explain which of the three views of the millennium you believe is right and provide reasons.