Thursday, February 6, 2020

Biblical Eschatology and the Millennium, Part II: Premillennialism

There are two types of Premillennialism, Historic and Dispensational, the former the oldest view of the millennium found in the church and the latter the newest. It will not be my purpose here to distinguish between the two, as they both share the idea that the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.


Arguments in Favor: 

Revelation 20 and 21, if read literally and in sequence seems to indicate a millennial reign before the judgment of the wicked and the creation of new heavens and earth. Revelation 20:4–21:1.

4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. 9 They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea existed no more.

Prophetic passages seem to promise a reign of Israel from a rebuilt Jerusalem over its enemies, who come and bow down to them (Isa 11:1-9, 14; 14:12; 60:1-14; Zech 14). This is only possible if the wicked are still upon the earth. Postmillennialists make this argument against Amillennialism as well.

Arguments Against:
 
1.      The natural world seems to be transformed at the time of the resurrection of God’s people (Rom 8:18–23), not a thousand years later. The passage is as follows.

18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the coming glory that will be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly but because of God who subjected it—in hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

2.      Prophetic passages in the Old Testament should not be used to confirm a specific eschatology. Passages like Isaiah 11:1-9, 14; 14:12, 60:1-14, and Zech 14, as well as other prophecies relate a promise of a “this age” physical kingdom that has some microcosmic similarities to the eternal state, even using the language of the eternal state (“new heavens and new earth” for example in Isaiah 66) are contingent promises given to Judah/Israel concerning what God will do for them when He brings them back into the land from deportation and exile. This is why they contain elements concerning sacrifices, the Levitical priesthood, and various other ordinances given to national Israel and are distinct to it. What is promised comes always with an implicit contingency, like all prophecy, and is based on the faithfulness or lack thereof of its recipients. If the Jews had been faithful when they got back in the land, they would have received this earthly picture of eternity in the here and now. They, however, are not faithful when they get back in the land and so these promises of a this-worldly physical kingdom are never realized. They could have been the priests God made them to be and microcosmically pictured the eternal state in harmony with God in the here and now, but decided to reengage in idolatry and sexual immorality when they got back in the land by marrying daughters of foreign gods, disregarding the ministry of God, the poor, etc. Hence, as Daniel 9, Ezra-Nehemiah, etc. argue, they remain under judgment. The use of prophesy by those seeking to establish some millennial view is mistaken in its methodology. As God promises judgment to Nineveh without any sign of offering them an alternative if they repent, those promises are not carried out in Jonah’s story because all prophecy, whether explicitly stating it or not, is contingent upon the repentance or lack thereof of its recipients. Hence, these passages only present what could have been had Israel been faithful to its physically-beneficial Mosaic covenant. They were not. Hence, the New Testament looks toward the physically-beneficial eternity promised to it while enjoying the fruit of its spiritual benefits and promises now. There are no physical promises of a this-worldly/already nature repeated in the New Testament. The already is spiritual and the not-yet is physical (e.g., resurrection of the spirit in regeneration already, but resurrection of the physical body not yet). Hence, none of these Old Testament prophecies should be used to secure a particular view of the millennium. What they depict, even according to some of their own language, is the eternal state of the new heavens and new earth promised to Christians (Rom 8; Rev 20–21).

3.      Christ’s last enemy is death according to 1 Corinthians 15:22–28, but in Premillennialism, Christ destroys death via the resurrection of His people and then destroys human enemies and Satan after the millennium (Rev 20). One could argue that death is not destroyed until the wicked are also raised, but again, 1 Corinthians 15:23-28 seems to indicate that death is destroyed at the resurrection of the saints and the immediate destruction of the powers of the world at the same time. It must be admitted, however, that it is possible to work this text out in a Premillennial scheme by simply arguing that the text does not explicitly say this. Instead, one could argue that the powers are officially disarmed at the defeat of the wicked, death of the wicked is the final blow to death itself (i.e., nothing else will ever die), and then the Son hands the heavenly seat back over to the Father. Although many might say vv. 51–55 indicate otherwise, this too is not without its own ambiguity.

4.      2 Peter 3:10–13 seems to indicate that the coming of the Lord in v. 4 is parallel to the day of the Lord in v. 10 that includes the judgment of the wicked and the world, and that the new heavens and earth follow immediately after the coming of Christ. The text reads as follows.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. 11 Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must you be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness, 12 while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

5.      Matt 25:31-46 indicates that there is at least an immediate judgment of the righteous and wicked within the church, which would indicate that there are two different judgments of the wicked if a millennial kingdom is brought into the mix. This is not so much a problem, but it does add information that gives a different picture than that presented in Revelation 20, where only one judgment of the wicked is indicated.

6.      2 Thes 1:5­–10 seems to indicate that all the wicked will be destroyed at the coming of Christ.

5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony.

Revelation does not present merely one timeline and sequence of events. The book itself is made up of cycles that refer to the same deliverance of Christians and the destruction of the wicked world. In Revelation 6 and 7, the world is destroyed through human wars that bring about famine, disease, and death, ending in the Lamb pouring out His wrath upon the corrupt cosmos. There are Christians both in heaven and upon the earth while He does this (Chapter 7), and the first cycle ends with the martyrs in the presence of God and Christ shepherding them (again, this is after the world has been destroyed). In Chapter 11, the end of the next cycle, the world ends with Christians being persecuted, resurrected, and immediately becomes the kingdom of Christ looking back on the fact that the wicked have all been destroyed because the day of their wrath had come. In Chapter 16, the end comes with a giant earthquake and all of the islands sink into the sea and all of the mountains collapse. Finally, in chapters 19 and 20, Christ ends the reign of the wicked world by just fighting the armies of the wicked, setting up a thousand year reign after the resurrection of the martyrs, and then wipes the rest of humanity and creation out after that reign. Whereas one can attempt to harmonize all of this, these are conflicting descriptions if taken literally. It is more likely that John is using multiple schemes found within Second Temple Judaism, not in order to convey a timeline or actual series of events, but rather the generic picture the apostles are given that Christ will destroy the wicked world and those who follow Him will reign with Him forever. Hence, taking the millennium in Chapter 20 as a literal depiction of the future that John somehow knows may be a mistake.

Hence, there are arguments to support a Premillenial view and arguments against it. This is not because Scripture contradicts itself, but due to the fact that the authors are using more than one scenario as a temporal framework in order to communicate what they do know about Christ's second coming and how Christians should live in light of it.

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