LESSON 3 Eschatology Post and Pre-mill Views
LESSON 3
A LOOK AT POST-MILLENNIALISM AND PRE-MILLENNAILISM
A QUICK REVIEW….
So, during these thousand years:
Satan is bound for 1000 years so as not to deceive the nations for 1000 years in the deep, bottomless pit until the 1000 years are ended.
Jesus is “literally” reigning on earth (v4) – “Literal comes from “Literary” which means “by the letter”.
The people who did not worship the beast and were martyred, came to life (Resurrected) and reigned with Christ.
The rest of the dead didn’t come back until the 1000 years were complete (the unsaved)
Variations of the Second Coming of Christ.
The 2nd Coming is the event upon which views of the MILLENNIUM is built.
The Millennium (from Latin, mille, thousand)
is a 1000-year period associated with the 2nd Coming of Jesus and His reign on earth as King, as described in Revelation 20.1-7.
Four Major Variations built upon this event (2nd Coming) and length of time of the Reign of King Jesus (The Millennium):
1. Pre-Millennialism
2. Post-Millennialism
3. A-Millennialism
4. “MY-Millennialism” or “YOUR-Millennialism”
Generally, Each position uses the Bible, even the same verses as the other, but propose different
IT DEPENDS ON….
WHEN IS THE SECOND COMING.
This was a very popular and growing view at the dawn of our country’s birth. It was a country based on religious freedom and opposed to the tyranny the world had known for ages.
But… things began to take a downward turn at the start of WWI and then again at WWII. It just didn’t appear that things were turning up roses.
Postmillennialism believes that the Scripture predicts a “Golden Age” in the world prior to Christ's return.
Things are getting better and better, the gospel is going and growing, people are getting saved and the earth will be a wonderful place to live, then Christ will come.
Will the earth get better? Let’s just believe very strongly in the gospel and go forth.
Matt 28.18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, ‘‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’’
Don’t we believe this will happen?
Greater and greater influence to provide a Christian character to the world for a long period of time (maybe not 1000 years) and then Christ will come back.
Parables with the kingdom also indicate that things will get better:
Matt 13.31f
31* He put another parable before them, saying, ‘‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
32* It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’’
Starts small and grows really big.
As a “Prebie”, I think of an actual world where Jesus is literally reigning on earth.
Posties think of a time where the world just has Christian influence in it to greatly change the earth.
Through the proclamation of the gospel in the present age, an unprecedented number of people in the world—in fact, a vast majority—will turn to Christ and be saved.
1. This time of mass spiritual expansion of God’s kingdom—often called the millennium—is NOT seen as the entire period of time between the first and second comings of Christ.
2. Instead, it is believed that the present age gradually merges into the millennium in such a way that it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern the exact starting point of the millennium.
The millennium will be characterized by spiritual prosperity, universal peace and righteousness, and economic well-being. Although Christ is not physically present on earth during this millennial period, He is believed to be the primary agent and cause of the church’s expansion and influence.
At the end of the millennium, there will be a brief period of apostasy and conflict between the church and the forces of evil. (On what basis can this happen, I wonder. How does a great apostasy birth itself from an expansion of righteousness?) This will be followed by the return of Christ and the resurrection and judgment of all mankind, who will then enter the eternal state.
What about the binding of Satan?
Postmillennialism generally teaches that the binding of Satan is a process that continues throughout the current church age “as evil is more and more suppressed” and “the world is more and more Christianized”.
In other words, Satan is bound progressively and therefore his deceptive power over the nations gradually fades as the kingdom of Christ grows through the advance of the gospel into the world.
What about the First Resurrection?
Generally, the resurrection is spiritual since the thousand-year period may be taking place in the present— very similar to the position of amillennialism.
Some postmillennialists believe that the first resurrection refers to a rebirth of the cause for which the martyrs died, others believe it refers to a revival of the martyr spirit within the church, and
still others believe it may refer back to Christ’s own resurrection (in which every believer has a part… “IN CHRIST”).
All postmillennialists are united, however, in their rejection of the physical resurrection view.
What about the reign of the Saints with Christ?
Does this Reign of the Saints take place in heaven or on earth?
The answer should be obvious: BOTH!
The millennial Reign of Christ takes place both in heaven and on earth.
The saints’ thrones are in heaven, with Christ (Eph. 2:6); yet, with their Lord, they exercise rule and dominion on earth.
In other words, Christ reigns from heaven, but He exercises His dominion through the saints here on earth.
There are some issues to address with our Post-Amill friends:
There are hardly any Bible verses to support their position at all. Weak.
The parables don’t tell us how much the mustard seed and leaven will influence the world.
It just goes from small to large.
The world doesn’t seem to becoming more influenced by Christianity.
There just doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the world that looks like the millennium – even North Carolina.
The Bible just seems to be looking forward to something more than the Greater Raleigh Area.
When we look at the Bible there seems to be indications that things are going to be getting a lot worse.
Matt 7.13-14
‘‘Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Posties want to swap these two. They want MANY to enter the NARROW GATE, and they want FEW to enter the WIDE GATE…Then comes the Millennium.
Lk 18.8
“I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’’
Doesn’t say He won’t, but where will it be?
2 Thess 2.3-4
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, …
Now this looks like things are on increase today…it doesn’t look like it is decreasing:
2 Tim 3.1-4, 12-13
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2* For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3* heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4* treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,…
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13* while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived…
Matt 24.21f, 29-31 (This looks like a literal Tribulation ahead, not paradise)
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
22* And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
‘‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30* Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31* And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Post-mills can’t expect Christ to come at any moment because the earth must be better and then a thousand years must be set up and go by and then Christ will come. None of this fits.
It’s so subjective, relative, and illusive. There is no real way to tell if things are getting better and staying that way. It’s like the waves on the beach that roll in and then rolls out.
What is valuable in the POST MILL view?
The encouragement to believe in the power of the gospel to change lives and the expectation of the increasing influence of the gospel wherever it is presented.
Our family, workplaces, educational institutions…
We don’t know how powerful or not this influence will be, but we can look at it like this…no one knows how bad things could be were it not for the influence of the gospel.
Look at us… you think someone is rough and tough around the edges or worse or that there’s a lot of room for improvement in that guy…well, you don’t know how bad they could be without Christ. You don’t know from where they came or from what evil they escaped. Sure, we all have assets and liabilities, that is normal.
Who are you to fix them in a mold that you think there is no power of the gospel flexing in their soul. I suspect that many of us will be startled to see one day at how vast the chasm is from where someone was and now is as compared to ourselves.
There is a positive transforming power of the gospel where there is influence.
We can be thankful for that.
Christ will come back before the MILLENNIUM.
The present age will climax with a period of Great Tribulation and then the Second Coming of Christ.
When Christ returns, He will establish an earthly kingdom and rule over it for a thousand-year period often known as the millennium.
At the time of Christ’s return, believers will be physically resurrected to reign with Him, and Satan will be bound in the abyss where he will remain for the thousand years.
During the millennium, Christ will reign in righteousness and there will be peace and justice throughout the earth.
At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released from the abyss and will gather the remaining unbelievers for battle against Christ, but they will be decisively defeated.
All unbelievers will then be raised from the dead (The Second Resurrection), and God will judge them according to their deeds.
The First Resurrection is unto eternal life. The Second Resurrection is unto eternal death.
After this final judgment, both believers and unbelievers will enter the eternal state.
One more “revisit” of “Why 1000 years?”
BUT some will say, “Why does he have this 1000-year period?”
Why not just come back and judge, set things right and be done with it?”
1. Because in Rev 20, it looks like that’s what will happen.
2. This is not a normal state of affairs – it is not this present age, nor is it an age where nobody dies – and it is not the eternal state …
Isa 65.19-20
“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.”
A 1000-year period of time when there is a renewed earth and where a natural order of sin is no longer the same.
Review:
How do we reconcile Isa 65.17 with Isa 65.20?
65.17: ‘‘For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind…”
65.20 (these two periods cannot be the same)
“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.
Just as it was described in Isa 61.1-2 that Jesus opened the Law and said that today “half of this is fulfilled” Lk 4.14-21.
Isa 65.17, 20 could be a “telescoping view” of both the New Heavens and Earth and the Millennium periods – Whereas the Millennium-renewed earth - a natural order of sin is NO longer the same – not sure how much of the ages are figurative and meaning a long time, or no longer a short time.
Zech 14.5-9, 12-13
This is not the new heavens because there is still evil, death, and it is not today because it is a different age – king on the throne of v5-9.
Rev 2.26-27
This is not right now. And it is not the new heavens and new earth.
It is a literal existence that is at sometime between this present age and the final consummation of the new heavens and earth.
1 Cor 15.22-25
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23* But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (The Millennium here)
24* Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
Rev 20.4
A Bodily resurrection – Rev 2.8 = same word as when Jesus was resurrected and is always used as a bodily, physical resurrection… “who died and came to life.”
This is not spiritual. It is an actual bodily presence here with Christ on earth.
Considering our “reign with Christ” 20.4:
We are Not currently reigning with Christ in the sense meant in this text. It is all future.
Lk 19.17
And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you SHALL have authority over ten cities.’
1 Cor 6.3
Do you not know that we ARE TO judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
Rev 3.21
The one who conquers, I WILL grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
At the end of the Tribulation, suddenly one day he will return physically, bodily to earth with those who were Raptured.
And those who were martyred and with the OT Saints will be resurrected and given new, perfect bodies that will never tire or grow old and will serve him during the millennium in positions of authority according to his pleasure.
And over the generations all nations will serve him … there will be people who will submit even though unwillingly.
Next Lesson (Lesson 4):
A side-step lesson on the RAPTURE.
The Rapture is when the church is “snatched up” by Christ before the Tribulation takes place.
We’ll look at some of the key verses that present conflict between those who hold to a Rapture view and those who oppose it.
Then, the following Lesson (Lesson 5):
The Covenants
Covenant Theology (CT),
New Covenant Theology (NCT),
Dispensationalism (DT)
Particularly how the Covenants relate to ISRAEL!
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