The following is from a friend of mine working with an RM church in Israel. He holds to a pre-mil view. Below is an outline he used in a Sunday school class:

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Postmillenialism- the relatively recent view, spawned from Amillennialism, that Christ will return to earth after (the prefix "post" means "after," as in "the post-resurrection appearances of Christ" ) an indefinite period of time in history during which the Church will progressively triumph with the gospel and social change until Jesus ultimately comes to receive the world in a relatively perfected state.

A. History

1. Traced back (with Amillennialism) to an African named Tyconius (died around 390 A.D.).

a. He rejected a literal interpretation of "1000 years" mentioned six times in Rev. 20.

b. He believed the millennium was his own time period.

c. He predicted Jesus would return in 380 A.D.

2. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) took aspects of Tyconius' view and shaped them into something resembling modern Postmillennialism/Amillennialism.

a. He was originally a Premillennialist.

b. He saw Christianity come into political power in Rome.

3. Due to Augustine's influence, Postmillenialism and Amillennialism existed together as variant strains of the same system of biblical interpretation until the late 1800s. His was the dominant view for thirteen centuries. Modern Postmillenialism took a separate path from Amillennialism at the turn of the century.

a. The industrial/technological revolution created extreme optimism for the future.

b. The advances in gospel preaching created extreme optimism for the future.

c. The realities of both World Wars (especially WWII) brought such optimism to a pessimistic halt.

4. Dominion Theology (known in various circles as Replacement theology, Kingdom Now theology, Reconstructionism, Restorationism), and some forms of Covenant theology are modern expressions of Postmillenialism.

B. Evaluation

Good points

1. Postmillenialism correctly gives attention to the present aspects of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 28:19 Christ is always with us).

2. Postmillenialism rightly encourages activism and evangelism (Matt. 13, the parables about the expanding kingdom).

3. Postmillenialism is biblical in promoting optimism in the power of Christ and the expansion of his kingdom (Acts 1:8, the Holy Spirit will empower us and the gospel will spread).

Bad points

1. Postmillenialism seems to ignore Scripture passages which predict spiritual and moral decay.

2. Postmillenialism tends to be arbitrary in determining what is literal and what is symbolic in Revelation and other biblical books.

3. Postmillenialism appears to remain in denial concerning the bleakness of past/present world events and limited success of missions.

4. Postmillenialism's replacement of Israel with the Church as the ONLY chosen people of God has contributed to Christian persecution of Jewish people.

Amillennialism- the ancient view that there is no real millennium (the prefix "A" means "no," as in a-theism, the belief that there is no God), but either (and there are two varieties) the Church progresses triumphantly with the gospel (this is close to Postmillenialism) or there is an increasing worldly resistance to the preaching of the gospel until Jesus Christ returns to conquer his foes and begin the eternal state.

A. History

1. Postmillenialism and Amillennialism were two parts of the same strain of biblical interpretation. 2. Both are traced back in a sophisticated form to

a. Tyconius (died around 390 A.D.) and later

b. Augustine (354-430 A.D.).

c. The seeds of Amillennialism were apparently present in such non-biblical works as:

1) The Epistle of Barnabas (around 120 A.D.).

2) The Shepherd of Hermes (around 190 A.D.).

3) Clement of Alexandria's writings (around 200 A.D.).

4) Dionysius' (died around 265 A.D.) writings.

5) Origen's (died around 280 A.D.) many writings.

d. However, such scattered views were not systematized until Tyconius, and mainly Augustine in the 4th and 5th centuries.

B. Evaluation

Good Points

1. Amillennial elements existed in the Church early on.

2. Amillennialism has at least as high a view of Scripture as any other view.

3. Amillennialism recognizes that some biblical literature is very symbolic and must be handled accordingly.

4. Amillennialism has attempted to treat Rev. 20 in context with the entire book of Revelation and other biblical and historical writings as well.

5. Amillennialism, unlike Postmillenialism, has a more realistic view of history and missions.

Bad points

1. Amillennialism is not the earliest view.

2. Amillennialism's earliest known adherents were from the Alexandrian (Egypt) school of thought which was somewhat removed geographically and theologically from the Judean origins of the Christian faith.

3. Amillennialism was not the dominant view until the 5th century.

4. Amillennialism is often arbitrary in determining which portions of Revelation are literal and which are figurative.

5. Amillennialism, in order to deny the millennium, does damage to Rev. 20:5 by spiritualizing the first resurrection, thus violating the plain meaning of every other usage of the greek word estason "came alive" in the whole New Testament, by equating it with the "new birth" of Jn. 3:3-7.

6. Amillennialism, in order to treat the "1000 years" symbolically, must force a symbolic interpretation on much of the Old Testament prophecies concerning a literal restoration of Israel to their ancient land, the literal building of a Temple in Jerusalem, etc.

7. Amillennialism, because of the above, has often (though there are some exceptions) resulted in an insidious Christian brand antisemitism.

8. Amillennialism chooses to ignore the biblical significance of the 1948 return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland and the implications that might have on the interpretation of the book of Revelation and the Bible as a whole.

Premillennalism- the indisputably most ancient view that Christ will return before (the prefix "pre" means "before" as in "pre-pare [or get ready beforehand] ye the way of the Lord") a literal one thousand year time-period during which he will rule all existing nations on earth from a restored and literal Jerusalem in the land of Israel.

A. History

1. An irrefutable Premilliannialism can be traced back to a disciple of the Apostle John-- who wrote the book of Revelation. Papias (died around 130), as quoted by Eusebius, believed Jesus would return and reign for a literal 1000 years in a rebuilt Jerusalem.

2. Writings from other early witnesses of Premillennialism exist.

a. Justin Martyr (died around 165 A.D., also with connections to the Apostle John) said that other views about the millennium existed in his day, but that only those who believed in a literal 1000 year reign of Christ in a restored Jerusalem are "right-minded" Christians.

b. Irenaeus (died around 200 A.D., also with connections to the Apostle John) was more outspoken than Justin Martyr in his criticism of non-premillennialists.

c. Hippolytus (died around 236 A.D.) held a literal view of the millennium.

d. Lactantius (died around 330 A.D.) believed that history would be divided into seven 1000 year sets, the 7th set being the literal reign of Christ from Jerusalem.

e. Augustine (died around 430 A.D.) believed similarly to Lactantius before he converted to Post/Amillenialism in the wake of the Church's rise to political power in Rome.

B. Evaluation

Good points

1. Premilennialism is the oldest position. Premillennialism can be unequivocally traced to a disciple of the only biblical author who specifically mentions the 1000 years: the Apostle John. Also ...

a. Justin Martryr was converted and taught in Ephesus not long after John was an elder in that city's church.

b. Irenaeus was taught on occasion by Polycarp, also a disciple of John's.

2. Premillennialists are generally more interested in prophecy than adherants of the other two positions.

3. Premillennialism tends to be more consistent within the text itself, as well as with views expressed in other 1st century Jewish literature regarding the reign of the Messiah and the judgments of the nations, in its interpretation of Rev. 20.

4. Premillennialism, because of its more literal approach, can describe the future in terms which are more apt to create moral change in the life of the believer.

5. Premillennialism gives place to the people of Israel, their continued existence and promises.

6. Premillennialism has no history of theologically sustained antisemitism.

Bad points

1. Premillennialists of ancient times sometimes described the millennium in such farfetched and preposterous terms as to discredit the view in the eyes of many.

2. Premillenialists tend to be too literal in their interpretation of the book of Revelation.

3. Premillennialists are often guilty of "newspaper exegesis," or interpreting biblical prophecy in light of current events rather than allowing Scripture, understood in its historical and cultural contexts, to interpret Scripture. (However, see Tychonius and Augustine above.)

4. Premillennialists, in some form or another, often imply that this current age is meaningless, thus implicitly encouraging pessimism with regard to social activism and sometimes even evangelism.

5. Premillennialists have "led the pack" in disregarding Christ's warnings against setting dates for Jesus' return and the end of the world.

6. Premillennialism places a lot of emphasis on a term that is mentioned only briefly in only one rather hard to interpret book of the Bible.

7. Premillennialism speaks of an interim time which, when one ponders it, provokes the question,"Why wouldn't God just 'cut to the chase,' do away with the earthly life, bring history to an end, and redeemed humanity directly into the eternal state when Christ returns?".

CONCLUSION: The majority of the negative aspects regarding Premillennialism are not directed at the

position itself, but rather at the extreme actions of many who hold the position. Premillennialism has much to commend it over and against the other two views which both have basic and foundational problems. Consequently, I have chosen, as a matter of conviction, to be a Premillennialist, though I recognize the right before God of others to hold differing views than my own. *******end quoted material****

-- Anonymous, January 28, 2001

Answers

When I played basketball....I was a "double dribbler."

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

Hi, Link,

Are you pre-, mid- or post-trib?

Just wondering.

-- Anonymous, January 29, 2001

I believe that Christ will return once. I'm not a pretrib or a mid tribber.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

"She was a day tripper, one way ticket yeah It took me so long to find out, and I found out."

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001