INTRODUCTION

A. “Millennial” comes from two Latin words:

 1. “Mille” meaning “thousand.”

 2. “Annum” meaning “year.”

B. “Mania” is “an exaggerated or irrational craving; an infatuation or madness.”

C. There is a millennial mania in the religious world today!

D. Premillennnial preachers on radio and television fill the airwaves with 
 predictions that the return of the Lord to rule on earth for 1,000 literal years (the  millennium) is rapidly approaching!

E. Premillennial books with dramatic titles abound in bookstores.

 1. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey.

 2. Shockwaves of Armageddon by Doug Clark.

 3. The End of the Age by Pat Robertson.

 4. 2001-On the Edge of Eternity by Jack Van Impe.

F. Books, tracts, sermons, and lectures contain warnings which fill us with fear:

 1. “Times are getting worse and worse!”

 2. “Events in the Middle East are leading to Armageddon!”

 3. “The European Common Market is preparing the way for the Antichrist.”

 4. Even El Nino is said to be a sign that the end is near.

G. Truly, we are in the midst of millennial madness!

 1. Many sincere Bible believers are troubled and frightened.

 2. Others are confused, not knowing what to believe.

H. Does the Bible really teach all the things premillennialists are telling us, or are we being deceived by misguided souls and false teachers (I John 4:1; 
 Revelation 2:2; I Thessalonians 5:21)?

DISCUSSION

I. WHAT IS PREMILLENNIALISM?

 A. There are three common views of the millennium in Revelation 20:1-6.

  1. Premillennialism:  This is the belief that Christ will return in order    to set up a kingdom on this earth and rule over it from Jerusalem for 1,000 literal years.

  2. Postmillennialism:   This is the belief that things are getting better    and better as a result of the preaching of the gospel.  This will eventuate in an age of peace and prosperity on the earth (the    millennium).  The second coming of Christ will occur at the end of the millennium.
 
  3. Amillennialism:  This is the belief that the thousand years are figurative and probably represent a period of time when Christians are generally free to spread the gospel throughout the world.

 B. The premillennial position is the most popular view of the millennium in   our time.

 C. According to premillennialism, several things must take place before   Christ can come back.

  1. There will be numerous wars, earthquakes, famines, floods and other disasters of a severity not seen before.

  2. The old Roman Empire will be revived in Europe.

  3. A great evil world ruler will arise — the Antichrist!

  4. The Jews will return to Palestine where many will be converted to    Christianity; the temple will be rebuilt and the Old Testament sacrificial system will be restored.

  5. True believers will be secretly and suddenly “caught up” into heaven — “the Rapture.”

  6. A time of intense persecution will take place against those who are being converted on earth — “the Great Tribulation.”

  7. A great battle will be fought at Megiddo in Palestine between the    Antichrist and his army, and the ‘kings of the East” and their armies — “Armageddon.”

 D. Also according to premillennialists, several things will take place after   Christ comes back.

  1. Christ will come at a crucial time and determine the outcome of the    Battle of Armageddon.

  2. He will then rule the earth from David’s throne in Jerusalem for
   1,000 actual years —the millennium.

   a. Peace will prevail throughout the world.

   b. Paradise will be restored.

   c. People will live extremely long lives.

  3. At the end of the millenium, Satan will be released from prison.

   a. He will lead a rebellion against the Lord and His righteous rule.

   b. Satan will be soundly defeated.

   c. The “Great White Throne” judgment will take place.

   d. Eternity will follow as the righteous are made immortal and are given a new heaven and a new earth.

  4. This is the most common premillennial approach, but the number and sequence of events may vary from person to person and from group to group.

II. PREMILLENNIALISM HAS TROUBLED GOD’S PEOPLE SINCE ANCIENT  TIMES.

 A. Millennial ideas were held by some of the Jews as early as the second   century before Christ.

 B. In the second and third centuries after Christ, some believers were    confused by chiliasm (premillennialism).
  1. It was widely rejected by the church in the East.

  2. In the West, Augustine’s opposition gradually killed it.

 C. In the Protestant Reformation, the great leaders such as Luther and   Calvin were amillennial in their thinking.

 D. Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) made postmillennialism popular among   Protestants.

III. A FORM OF PREMILLENNIALISM CALLED “DISPENSATIONALISM” 
 BECAME POPULAR IN THE 1800’S.

 A. Dispensationalism teaches that all human history can be divided into   seven successive ages which correspond to the six days of creation   which concluded with God resting on the seventh day.

  1. The first day = the age of innocence which lasted from creation to the fall.

  2. The second day = the age of conscience which lasted from the fall to the flood.

  3. The third day = the age of human government which lasted from the flood to the time of Abraham.

  4. The fourth day = the age of promise which lasted from Abraham to the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.

  5. The fifth day = the age of law which lasted from Sinai to Calvary.

  6. The sixth day = the age of grace which will last from Calvary to the   coming of Christ to establish His kingdom on earth.

  7. The seventh day = the age of the kingdom, which lasts from the second coming of Christ to the end of the millennium when eternity will begin.

 B. Two things are wrong with the dispensational division of the earth's   history:

  1. The idea that one day equals a thousand years is based on an erroneous interpretation of II Peter 3:8.

   a. Peter did not say, “A thousand years is a day.”

   b. He said, “A thousand years is as a day.”

  2. The dispensational divisions are purely arbitrary; they do not set forth the doctrine; they appear to have been selected to set forth the doctrine already believed (II Peter 3:16).

 C. Two prominent preachers are primarily responsible for the form of 
  dispensational doctrine believed today:

  1. John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren, is the father of modern dispensationalism.

  2. C. I. Scofield, a lawyer and politician turned minister for the Congregational Church, popularized dispensationalism with two works:

   a. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth - first published in 1888.

   b. The Scofield Reference Bible - first published in 1909.

IV. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER PROMINENT POINTS OF 
 PREMILLENNIALISM.

 A. It is alleged that God did not fulfill all the land promise to Israel.

  1. All of Palestine must be occupied before the kingdom can be set up.

  2. This is refuted fully by Joshua 21:43-45 and 23:14:  the entire land    promise was fulfilled.

 B. It is alleged that Christ came the first time to set up His kingdom, but   failed to do so because of the rejection of the Jews.

  1. Instead, he set up the church as a “spiritual contingency” or 
   “vestibule of the kingdom.”

  2. Christ is coming the next time to set up His earthly kingdom.

  3. Several things are wrong with this theory:

   a. It makes the first coming of Christ a failure.

   b. It casts reflection upon the omnipotence of God suggesting
    He was unable to do that which He intended.

   c. It also casts reflection upon the omniscience of God and
    suggests He did not know the right time to send His Son
    (Galatians 4:4,5).

  d. It makes the church of Christ a mere “afterthought”
    (Ephesians 3:10,11).

 C. It makes Revelation 20 the focal point around which all of the rest of the
  Bible is to be interpreted; this will be shown to be false in a later lesson by another speaker.  (See the outline on Revelation 20 and Premillennialism by Skip Andrews in this book).

CONCLUSION

A. The majority of conservative believers in the inspiration of the Bible today hold to some form of premillennialism.

B. Dispensationalism is the most popular form of premillennialism in our time.

C. Dispensationalism differs from classic premillennialism on several points:

 1. Classic premillennialism does not necessarily require belief that the days of creation represent ages or dispensations.

 2. Classic premillennialism believes the church was a part of God’s original
  purpose, but also holds to a belief in a future millennial reign on earth.

 3. Classic premillennialism does not make the first coming of Christ a failure
  or the church an afterthought, and therefore does not reflect upon the 
  omnipotence and omniscience of God.

       
        Rod Rutherford
        P. O. Box 751135
        Memphis, TN 38175-1135