The necessary implications of the premillennial doctrine are grave indeed. This calculation was arrived at, by a literal interpretation of Psalm 90:4, “A thousand years are in thy sight as one day.” It was further argued that as the World was created in six days, so it would last six thousand years, the seventh thousand would be a period of repose, a sabbath on Earth to be followed by the destruction of the World (Neander 1858, 248). The idea of a millennial reign proceeded from Judaism, for among the Jews the representation was current, that the Messiah would reign a thousand years on earth, and then bring to a close the present terrestrial System. The fact is, this mistaken Jewish expectation of a literal, material kingdom spawned the millennial doctrine that was taught in the early post-apostolic age. This same notion was entertained by the ancient Jews and actually was responsible for their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. One of the primary fallacies of the premillennial concept is a materialistic view of the reign of Christ. When he returns, he allegedly will raise only the righteous dead, restore national Israel, sit upon David’s literal throne in Jerusalem, and then reign for a span of one thousand years-after which comes the resurrection of the wicked and the judgment. Hence, he postponed the kingdom plans and set up the church instead-as sort of an emergency measure. He was, however, surprisingly rejected by the Jews. To summarize, the premillennial view asserts that Christ came to this earth for the purpose of setting up his kingdom. David’s throne will be re-established at Jerusalem, and through these restored people as a nucleus Christ will reign with his immortal saints over the whole world (Nichols n.d., 279). In preparation for the return of Christ and the beginning of the millennium, they are being gathered back to their own land, according to prophecy, in a national restoration. The wicked will then be raised, and a final judgment will take place in which Satan and all evil ones will be consigned to eternal punishment (Harvey 1964, 151).įor centuries the Jews have been scattered among many nations. At the close of this time, Satan will be loosed and the forces of evil will once again be rampant. There will then follow a millennium of peace and order over which Christ will reign with his saints. At his coming, Christ will destroy this anti-Christ and believers will be raised from the dead. Generally, premillennialists believe that shortly before the second coming the world will be marked by extraordinary tribulation and evil and the appearance of the Anti-Christ. Meanwhile, it is argued, the Lord gathered together “the church” as a kind of interim measure (Kevan 1999, 352). It is alleged however, that because the Jews refused his person and work he postponed the establishment of his kingdom until the time of his return. It is held that the Old Testament prophets predicted the re-establishment of David’s kingdom and that Christ himself intended to bring this about. The following quotations are introduced to bring some of the main points into focus: We will focus mainly on that branch of millennialism that is known as dispensational premillennialism. It is, therefore, not an easy task to generalize regarding this system of doctrine. The premillennial theory is advanced in several different ways. The theory thus suggests that Christ will return to the earth just prior to a one-thousand-year reign. The word “premillennial” itself is derived of two components-“pre” signifies before, and “millennium” denotes a period of one thousand years. The premillennial concept is the result of literalizing a few symbolic verses in the book of Revelation, coupled with a considerable disregard for scores of Bible passages of clearest import. No doubt, there is great interest in the religious world of end-time events. The popularity of this effort has enabled the originators to develop a parallel film series as well. Second, it interprets present world political trends as signs of the imminent return of Jesus Christ.Ī more recent production, advocating the same general theory, is the fictional Left Behind series. The thrust of Lindsey’s book is two-fold: First, it espouses the premillennial theory of Christ’s second coming. It was authored by Hal Lindsey, a graduate of the school of theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary. One of the first widely-popular efforts was titled, The Late Great Planet Earth. A flood of paperback books, advocating the theory of premillennialism, has invaded the religious market in recent years.
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