TheosGuy

Following is some of the requested info re: premillennialism.

1. Pre-millennial Leaders in the Early Church. Following are some of the notable premillennial disciples/writers in the early church.

• Barnabus (~100 AD)
• Polycarp(70-155-160 AD)
• Pothinus (87-177 AD)
• Irenaeus(120-202 AD)
• Justin Martyr (100-165 AD)
• Tertullian (150-225 AD)
• Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis (60-130/155AD)
• Tatian (110-172 AD)
• Apollinaris (175 AD)
• Clement, Bishop of Rome (90-100 AD)
• Cyprian (200-258 AD)
• Hegesippus (Second Century)
• Melito (~190 AD)

Of special note in the above list are Polycarp, Irenaeus and Justin Martyr. Polycarp was a direct disciple of the Apostle John (the writer of Revelation) and at the same time when Revelation was written. Therefore, it is reasonable that John would have directly taught Polycarp about this subject. And Polycarp was premillennial. Carry this on to the next level, since Irenaeus was a direct disciple of Polycarp, and Irenaeus was premillennial. Then Justin Martyr a contemporary of Irenaeus, both premillennialists, wrote the work, Against Heresies to document what Christians believe. I attached an interesting article from Dr. Michael Vlach of The Master’s Seminary, who traces the premillennial beliefs of the early church chronologically around the time of the Apostle John and geographically around John’s ministry.

2. While we could find quotes in the writings of the above, a “shortcut” would be to review the following notable researchers.

• Philip Schaff, in his seminal work The History of the Christian Church, noted the following:
  

  The Apostolic Fathers and the early church were definitely premillennial in their thinking. In fact, Church historian, Phillip Schaff, wrote the following: The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millennarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius; [1]

  [1] Phillip Schaff. The History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2 (New York: Charles Scribner & Company, 1884), p. 482.

• Thomas Burnet, Royal Chaplain to King William III of England, documented the Ante-Nicene history of premillennialism for the King, in the late 1600’s.
  

  And to make few words of it, we will lay down this conclusion, that the Millennial kingdom of Christ was the general doctrine of the Primitive Church, from the times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council; inclusively. [2]

  [2] Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth (London: J. McGowan, 1681), 346.

  Note even the fact that in the 1600’s they were discussing premillennialism from a historical standpoint, shows that it did not start with Darby in the 1800’s.

Tags: Premillennialism

The Apostolic Fathers and the early church were definitely premillennial in their thinking. In fact, Church historian, Phillip Schaff, wrote the following:

The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millennarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius; while Caius, Origen, Dionysius the Great, Eusebius (as afterwards Jerome and Augustin) opposed it.¹

In addition, Thomas Burnet, Royal Chaplain to king William III of England, wrote,

And to make few words of it, we will lay down this conclusion, that the Millennial kingdom of Christ was the general doctrine of the Primitive Church, from the times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council; inclusively.²

Notes:
1. Phillip Schaff. The History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2 (New York: Charles Scribner & Company, 1884), p. 482.

2. Gary Vaterlaus, “Amillennialism vs Premillennialism,” http://rapturenotes.com/amillennialism.html (last visited December 6, 2010), quoting Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth (London: J. McGowan, 1681), 346.

Tags: Premillennialism

Often you will hear some Amillennialists say that they take the Bible literally. But when you start to ask questions, you find out that they mean something different than most non-amillennialists. When you start to quiz, you will find out that they do take certain parts of Scripture literally (in the historical-grammatical-literal sense). These parts of Scripture are:

• Non-prophetic portions of Scripture.
• The prophetic portions of Scripture that have already been literally fulfilled through the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.
• Scripture related to the final eternal state of man.

But there is one genre of Scripture that is not included in the above list. That genre is Scripture prophesying events after the ascension of Christ and before the eternal state. In other words, what is commonly called End Times Prophecy (e.g., the rapture, the tribulation, and the Millennial Kingdom).

So the issue becomes what method of interpretation do they apply to Scripture that is prophetic of a time after Christ’s earthly ministry. Well, they take them allegorically or as some would call it spiritualizing the scripture.

Once when speaking to an avid amillennialist regarding this, he took me to task telling me that they do not allegorize these scriptures, they merely treat them as metaphors. This person was an intelligent person and a thinker. Yet he failed to know his dictionary. Check out Merriam-Webster’s and you will find out that an allegory is merely a long metaphor. The Book of Revelation seems to be a bit long to call just a metaphor!

But then that is the whole point isn’t it. Do words mean what they mean, in their context! This type of interpretation is called the historical-grammatical-literal method of interpretation. Or are they some code that we have to figure out what they really mean? And who gets to be the judge of what they really mean? Sounds a bit Gnostic to me.

Well there are a few amillennialists that are honest to themselves, and us, about this. The following quotes from two amillennialists of the past which clearly acknowledge that premillennialism is the fruit of a historical-grammatical-literal method, and amillennialism is not.

Floyd Hamilton, an amillennialist, wrote:

Now we must frankly admit that a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the Premillennialist pictures…The Jews were looking for just such a kingdom as that expected by those premillennialists…¹

Oswald Allis, another amillennialist, wrote:

One of the most marked features of Premillennialism in all its forms is the emphasis which it places on the literal interpretation of Scripture.²

Here’s a quick question to ask. Do you believe in a literal earthly 7-year tribulational period prior to the Second Coming of Christ in glory. Amillennialists will say no. But the Scriptures define that seven year period in at least three different ways:

• Seven years (Daniel and Revelation)
• The Great Tribulation, which is the second half of the total tribulation, as 3-1/2 years (thereby meaning the entire tribulational period is twice that period, totalling 7 years. Those 3-1/2 years are described in three different ways:
  • three and 1/2 years (Dan 7:25; 12:7; Rev 12:14)
  • forty-two months (Rev 11:2; 13:5)
  • 1,260 days (Rev 11:3; 12:6)(remember the Biblical year is 360 days–as is most banking and financial interest calculations)

Well my question, is…how many different ways does the Holy Spirit have to tell us it is 3-1/2 years before we believe it! What is really interesting is that many (if not most) of the same amillennialists believe in a literal 6-day creation. Yet, there is more ambiguity in the original language over the Hebrew word translated day, than there is in the Greek words translated as noted above. I believe in both a literal 6-day creation, a literal 7-year tribulation and a literal 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom. God literally meant what He said, in both the beginning and at the end.

1. Hamilton, Floyed E., The Basis of the Millennial Faith. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1942), pp. 38-39

2. Allis, Oswald T., Prophecy and the Church. (London, James Clarke & Co., 1945), p.17

Tags: End Times, Premillennialism