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PART ONE: WHAT IS THE MILLENNIUM?

The Millennium is the "thousand-year reign" of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20:2-6.

During this period,

Satan is bound (Rev. 20:2).

The nations are no longer deceived by Satan (Rev. 20:3).

Those who were killed for the sake of Christ, and those who did not take

the Mark of the Beast, live and reign with Christ as priests of God (Rev. 20:4-5).

After this period,

Satan will be released from prison (Rev. 20:7).

Satan will again deceive the nations (Rev. 20:8).

Satan will gather an army for battle, only to have it be destroyed by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:8-9).

Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

The Final Judgment will happen (Rev. 20:11-15).

PART TWO: HOW IS THE MILLENNIUM PERCEIVED TODAY?

There are basically three interpretations of the Millennium: Amillennialism, PostMillennialism, and
PreMillennialism.

Amillennialism. This view sees the Millennium as the era in which the church exists. In Amillennialism, we are
already in the Millennium. The Millennium began on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem in A.D. 30, and it will not
end till Christ returns.

One of the greatest strengths of Amillennialism is its simplicity: no complex sequence of events is required be-
fore the return of Christ. The "Beast," the "Mark of the Beast," and other symbols in Revelation are not applied to
specific entities in the future; they represent forces at work in every generation. The Battle of Armageddon and
the Final Battle before the Final Judgment are thus one event. The Judgment in Matthew 25 and the Judgment
in Rev. 20:11-15 are also one event.

Many of the prophecies about signs of the end in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 are generally regarded as having
been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 69-70. Thus, Amillennialists believe that the one, visible
return of Christ may occur at any time, followed by one Judgment Day.

One of the weaknesses of Amillennialism is that the church age does not readily fit the Biblical descriptions of
the Millennium. Many nations are still deceived. Isaiah 66 seems to foresee a time when "the wolf and the lamb
shall feed together," and when he who dies at age 100 will be considered to have died young. Ezekiel 47
describes a time when the Dead Sea will become a freshwater lake with fish living in it. These scenarios do not
seem to describe heaven, but they do not fit church history, either.

Another difficulty is that although Matthew 24 and Mark 13 predict the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred
in A.D. 69-70, they also describe an "abomination of desolation," and the return of Christ on the clouds of heaven
with a trumpet-blast. The events of A.D. 69-70 may be a pattern of future events, but it is difficult to see how
they could explain everything in these passages.

Also, Second Thessalonians 2:3-4 says that the day of the Lord will not come until an individual appears who
blasphemously "sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Protestant Amillennialists
tend to claim that this refers to a type of individual rather than to one person. In the past, they have tended to
identify the "man of sin" as the Roman Catholic office of the Pope, and the "temple of God" as the visible church.

As evidence of this, they cited claims of excessive authority made by some Popes, for instance, the decree
Unam Sanctam, issued in 1302, which stated, "for every human creature it is completely necessary for salvation
to be subject to the authority of the Roman Pontiff." Other papal decrees have stated that the Pope is "the judge
of the living and the dead," and that when he speaks in a special official capacity, the Pope is infallible.

Papal Infallibility is still a Roman Catholic doctrine. And it is still officially taught in the Roman Catholic
Catechism that Sacred Scripture cannot stand without the Magisterium (the Roman Catholic teaching
authorities). The Roman Catholic Catechism also teaches that the only Church of Christ, in organizational
form, subsists in the Catholic Church governed by the Pope.

At the same time, though, the Catechism states that "All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are
incorporated into Christ," and "with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the
Catholic Church." [source: Catechism of the Catholic Church, part 818]

Although it is unclear what "the children of the Catholic Church" means, that does not seem like the position of a
terrible Antichrist. There was a time when the Roman Catholic Church openly persecuted and killed many
Protestants. However, as the Roman Catholic Church becomes more and more tolerant and co-operative, the
claim that the office of the Pope is the "man of sin" becomes less and less justifiable. Because of this,
Amillennialism seems to currently have no satisfactory explanation for II Thess. 2:3-4.

PostMillennialism. This view basically states that Christ will return after the Millennium (thus, Christ's return is
Post-Millennial). Like Amillennialism, PostMillennialism views most of Revelation as symbolic of the battle
between good and evil that occurs in every generation. But to a PostMillennialist, the Millennium is a Golden Age
of Christianity: as the result of Christ-like living, intense evangelism, and missionary work, the church will
someday bring about a peaceful society in the entire world. Love, virtue, and Christian faith will be found
everywhere. This sentiment was expressed in the Christmas carol, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" ~ an
"age of gold" is coming in which, through the Spirit-led efforts of the church, peace shall reign over all the earth.

However, it is difficult to reconcile this optimistic notion with some Biblical statements, such as "Narrow is the
gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it," (Matthew 7:14). Paul warned in
Second Timothy 3:1-9 that in the last days, "perilous times shall come." False prophets, false teachers, woes,
persecution, tribulation � the authors of the New Testament seem to have generally expected things in the last
days to get worse and worse, not better and better.

It may be worth noting that PostMillennialism gained its greatest level of popularity in the 1800's, as Protestant
churches were focusing on abolishing slavery and on sending missionaries overseas. By the late 1800's,
slavery was mostly a thing of the past, and traveling evangelists such as Dwight Moody had the goal of fulfilling
Matthew 24:14, preaching the gospel in all the world.

Then came the Great War (WWI). It quickly became obvious that social and technological advancement was
not necessarily attached to moral advancement. The "Golden Age of Christianity" which had appeared to be just
over the horizon in the mid-1800's looked pretty far away in 1917. The popularity of PostMillennialism rapidly
dwindled, and to this day, PostMillennialists are few and far between.

PreMillennialism. This view basically states that the return of Christ will occur before the Millennium. The
idea that Christ will return to earth and establish an earthly kingdom is an ancient belief; early Christian writers
such as Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus believed this. However, the complex, systematic presentation of
PreMillennialism as it is now typically formatted is relatively new, originating mainly in the sermons and writings
of John Nelson Darby in the mid-1800's, and made popular in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible (first
published in 1909).

PreMillennialism was widely accepted in the 1900's because it looked accurate. Some PreMillennialists had
predicted that the Jews would return to their land. In 1878, William E. Blackstone, a PreMillennialist preacher,
had written that Israel would be restored in his book, Jesus Is Coming. Others had predicted that the nations
north of Israel would become powerful. As the Soviet Union became powerful, and as Israel became a political
state (in a long process culminating in 1948), it looked as if prophecies were coming true. (It should be noted
that Blackstone and many other Zionists worked very hard to make sure their prediction about a future state of
Israel would come true.)

Another appealing aspect of PreMillennialism is that it provides an exciting plot for the last days. It adds
relevance to many Old Testament passages, such as the second half of Daniel. In addition, it is hard for the
average person to see the basis for the non-PreMillennialists' claim that a historical pattern of a Beast and a
False Prophet (as described in Rev. 13-14) has already existed, unless one is familiar with the Emperor-cult of
the Roman Empire.

After the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, PreMillennialists could say, "See? The prophecies are
coming true. Ezekiel 23 predicted that Israel would emerge as a nation again, and it did." Some interpreters
thought that 1948 marked the beginning of the last generation, so as time passed, interest in eschatology (the
study of the last days) increased, and a new market for end-times writings emerged, which is still with
us. The writings varied widely in style and quality. In Part Seven, some significant writings about the last days
are described.

PreMillennialism is currently the dominant view among American evangelical churches, but variations exist
between one form of PreMillennialism and another. In order to examine these differences more closely, we now
move on to Part Three.

PART THREE: WHAT IS THE RAPTURE?

The Rapture is the gathering, or "snatching away," of the Christians who are alive on earth when Christ returns.
The word "rapture" is not in the New Testament, but the concept of being "caught up" to Christ is given in First
Thessalonians 4:17 ~ "Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (ASV).

All views of the Millennium include a rapture of some kind. In Amillennialism and PostMillennialism, the Rapture
is uncomplicated: Christ returns visibly, the last trumpet sounds; dead Christians arise, and then the Christians
who have not died float up to Christ, and then comes Judgment Day.

In PreMillennialism, the Rapture is not always so simple (though, in one form of PreMillennialism, it is). But to
understand the differences which have emerged, one needs some grasp of other events which PreMillennialists
expect to occur in the last days.

PART FOUR: THE PREMILLENNIAL CONCEPT OF THE END-TIMES

By combining passages in Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel (and other books, but especially those three), a
general schedule for the last days has been proposed:

An individual known as the "Antichrist" will arise ~ a counterfeit savior who will promise to deliver the world
from its troubles.

The Antichrist will rule a confederation of nations. Some interpreters say that this refers to ten nations in a
strong European union; others say that the Antichrist will have ten assistants overseeing a larger union of
nations.

This worldwide alliance, called the "Beast," will control the planet. The Antichrist will control the Beast.
There will also arise a False Prophet � a false religious organization � which will require loyalty to the
government to be sworn as a religious act. (In Rev. 13, the Antichrist's government is the "Beast from the Sea,"
and the False Prophet organization is the "Beast from the Earth.")

The Antichrist will arrange a treaty with the state of Israel which provides for the reconstruction of the
Temple in Jerusalem. (At least one interpreter believes that the Temple could be rebuilt before the reign of the
Antichrist.) After the Temple is rebuilt, the Antichrist will take control of the Temple from the Jews, and will
accept divine titles for himself (much like the Roman Emperors did), or for an image symbolic of his
government, in the Temple.

As soon as this occurs, the Antichrist will begin to openly persecute all Christians. Also, many interpreters
(but not all) believe that either he will appear to undergo a death and resurrection, or he will appear to raise one
of his assistants from the dead. (This is described in Rev. 13:3 ~ "one of his heads was as if it had been
mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed.")

Many Jews, seeing the prophecies come true, will become Christians.

The False Prophet will force everyone to receive a Mark showing that the individual has sworn loyalty to the
Beast and regards the Antichrist as God. Those who refuse to take the Mark will be killed.

Christians will refuse to take the Mark, and will therefore be fiercely persecuted. This is the "Great
Tribulation."

A series of natural disasters, possibly including meteors, will strike the earth. Many people will die.

"Babylon," headquarters of the False Prophet (described in Rev. 17:9 as a city set on seven hills, like the
city of Rome), will be destroyed. Some interpreters say this will be due to the disasters striking the earth; others
say it will be caused by rebels within the Antichrist's government.

The Antichrist will gather all the military forces at his disposal, and target them at Israel. They will assemble
at Armageddon (in northern Israel).

Suddenly, Christ will return on a white horse, slay the entire army of the Antichrist, imprison Satan, and
throw the Beast and the False Prophet into the lake of fire.

Christ will then establish a physical kingdom on earth. People who did not become Christians, but who
helped Christians avoid death during the tribulation-period, will be rewarded according to their works.

One thousand glorious, peaceful years later, Satan will be released from prison, and many members of the
generation living at the end of the Millennium will rebel against Christ. Again, a great army will surround
Jerusalem.

This time, fire from heaven will devour Satan's army.

Christ will then begin the Final Judgment, in which all the dead will be judged. The unsaved will be cast into
the lake of fire. Those with their names in the Lamb's Book of Life will enter the New Jerusalem, commonly
known as "heaven," to experience eternity with God.