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Home , Amillennialism, Great Apostasy, Millennialism, Postmillennialism

Summary of the Millennial Views

Postmillennialism – The 2nd coming of Christ is after the millennium.  19:11-21 – Depicts the triumph of the Gospel in this world. It is not the 2nd coming of Christ but rather the coming of Christ is metaphorical to describe the Gospel converting most of the world to .  :1-6 – The millennium begins sometime after the 1st coming of Christ. Some believe it began with the first coming of Christ and others believe it is still future. o The 1000 years is symbolic of a long period time where Christ and the will rule on . o The binding of means that sin and will be negligent, and the world will be governed by the Mosaic Civil Law. o The millennium is a “” of peace, righteousness, and prosperity on earth where the promises of God in the being fulfilled literally on earth. o The “First ” is the conversion of the people from spiritual death to spiritual life.  Revelation 20:7-10 – The millennium ends with the 2nd Coming of Christ to bring in the eternal state of the New Creation/ .

Dispensational – The 2nd coming of Christ occurs before the millennium.  :11-21 – Depicts the of Christ in Visible Bodily Glory to judge the nations. o The , which is the secret coming of Christ to take up the resurrected church into heaven, had already occurred before the 7 years of tribulation.  Revelation 20:1-6 – Depicts the bodily resurrection of ethnic Israel to reign with Christ on earth after the church period. The church age, which is not prophesied in the Old Testament, began with the first coming of Christ. The church is a parenthetical period of grace not taught in the Old Testament. The promises of the Old Testament is for Israel fulfilled in a future millennium. o The 1000 years is a literal time period where the nation of Israel will rule the world and the blessings of God will be for all nations centered upon Israel. o The binding of Satan is absolute, so sin and evil is negligent. Everyone will believe in God. o The promises of God in the Old Testament is now being fulfilled: the land of Canaan will be restored to Israel and the earthly city Jerusalem will be the center of rule. During this time the temple will be rebuilt, and the sacrifices will be reinstituted. o Non-glorified people will also live during that period together with glorified people. Although non-glorified people will live long lives, death will still continue.  Revelation 20:7-10 – Depicts a great from the children of non-glorified people and God’s final judgment upon the nations and Satan. After this, there will be another resurrection of non-believers for judgment. So in reality, there is a 3rd coming of Christ to usher in the eternal state.

1 Historic Premillennialism  Revelation 19:11-21 – Depicts Christ’s Second Coming in Visible Bodily Glory to judge the nations.  Revelation 20:1-6 – Depicts the earthly millennial reign of Christ with the Church. o The 1000 years is most likely literal but could be figurative. o The binding of Satan means that sin and evil will be negligent and everyone will believe in God/ Christ. But death will still continue. o The “First Resurrection” refers to a glorified bodily resurrection of the church to reign upon the earth in righteousness, peace, and prosperity. o The bodily resurrected will live together with non-glorified people who will have long lives as death will still continue.  Revelation 20:7-10 – Depicts a by the children of the non-glorified people after the millennium and then the final judgment. After this, there will be another resurrection of non-believers for judgment.

Amillennialism – The 2nd coming of Christ will occur after the millennium. The “a” in means (non or not). And so it means no-. This doctrine does not deny millennialism but the rather it is “non” to say that there is not a literal earthly 1000 year of Christ on earth but rather the millennial refers to the present church age and the reign is the reign of Christ in heaven.  Revelation 19:11-21 – Depicts Christ’s Second coming in Judgment after the church age.  Revelation 20:1-6 – Depicts this present church age that began with the death and resurrection of Christ. A return back to the time before the 2nd coming of Christ. o The 1000 years is a symbolic number that indicates that the church age will be long but will have an eventual end. o The reign of Christ and the saints is a reign in heaven during the present church age. o The “First Resurrection” refers to the saints who are dead but have ascended to heaven and is presently reigning with Christ. The “First Resurrection” does not refer to a literal bodily resurrection. o The binding of Satan refers to a restraint upon Satan to no longer deceive the nations. The Gospel will triumph in the missionary work to all nations. The nations are now free to hear the Gospel. But the binding of Satan is not absolute so that the millennium is characterized as a time when both evil and good will flourish. Sin and death will continue and so there will be suffering and tribulation for the church on earth.  Revelation 20:7-10 – Depicts a recapitulation of the events in Revelation 19:11-21, which is the Second Coming of Christ. After this, there will be a general resurrection of both believers and non-believers where God will judge non-believers into the eternal and believers will inherit the New Creation, Kingdom of God, the .

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