Millennialism

The term "millennium" refers to the thousand years of Revelation 20. Revelation 20 and 21 portray the entire New Testament era and its consummation with the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. It begins with a picture of an angel capturing Satan and binding him in the "bottomless pit" for a millennium, after which he must be released for a little while (Revelation 20:1-3). During this millennium the martyrs are raised in a first resurrection and reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). When the millennium is over, Satan is released and assembles forces to attack the camp of the saints. But fire comes down from heaven and consumes them, and Satan is thrown "into the lake of fire and sulfur" (Revelation 20:7-10). Then come the resurrection and the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-13). The wicked are thrown into the lake that burns with fire and sulfur (representing eternal death, Revelation 20:14-15) and the righteous inherit eternal life in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21).

But the term "millennialism" has come through the years to refer not only to various views about this period, but also to different views about the timing and even the nature of the return of Christ. As the label suggests, "Millennialism" and "Millennial views" refer to this millennium. The most common millennial views may be classified under four categories: "historic premillennialism," "postmillennialism," "amillennialism," and "dispensational premillennialism."

We look look at these four categories in the next few days.

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