Church History

Have you ever wondered how things will transpire at the culmination of history? When the end comes, what will it be like? What will happen to those we love who have already passed away? What will happen to us? For centuries, humanity has wrestled with these and many other important questions surrounding the last days. This resource provides a short, clear breakdown of the different positions and views surrounding the end times. There are three main positions throughout the generations of the Church. This indicates to us that while it is important to study and research the different positions, adhering to one exact view is not a central tenant of orthodox faith, meaning that there is not one particular view that has been believed everywhere, at all times, and by all believers. Rather, as followers of Jesus, we are invited to study the Scripture and decide how we, in accordance with wisdom and the Spirit, interpret these verses, and, as a result, aim to embrace a tangible way of living that trusts God, shares His gospel, and endures hardship and suffering with faith and steadfastness. Regardless of your final position, we who follow Christ are all exiles in this fallen world, and we are all saved by grace through faith for the glory of God.    Key Terms: Eschatology: from the Greek word eschatos, which means ‘last’. Eschatology is the term used to describe the study of the end times or last things. Millennium: the 1,000-year period (literal or symbolic) where Christ will reign and rule on the earth as described in Revelation 20.Tribulation: The term generally describes the suffering and anguish of the people of God throughout history. In eschatology, it refers to a specific and intense seven-year period of suffering in the last days, often known as the Great Tribulation.Rapture: Refers to the event where believers will be “caught up” or rise into the sky to join Christ as He returns to earth. Three Views Of The Millenium The millennium is a 1,000 period where Christ will reign and rule and reign on earth as described in Revelation 20:1-6. These verses describe an event that will take place in the last days. In verse 2, we read about the 1,000-year reign known as the Millennium. This is the only place in the Scripture where there is a reference to this 1,000-year reign. For centuries, Theologians have worked to interpret and understand the meaning behind the Millennium. While many minor positions have developed over time, we will focus on the three leading views that have developed throughout Church history. While there are some things that all positions must agree on (listed below), each of these positions has been or is currently held by smart and respectable bible believing Christians. The three leading positions we will discuss are premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. The essential common ground among differing views: Jesus will bodily return to earth as a conquering King. [Acts 1:11]Jesus will cast out Satan forever. [Rev 20:10]Jesus will right all wrongs and is making all things new. [Rev 21:5]God will judge the living and the dead. [2 Tim 4:1]Believers/saints will live with God forever in the new heaven and new earth. [Rev 21:3]The unrighteousness will be eternally separated from God in everlasting suffering. [Rev 20:15]    View 1 – Premillennialism   The premillennialist perspective believes that Christ will return prior to (pre-) the millennium. This position takes a literal reading of Revelation 20:1-6 and believes that Christ will physically and bodily return to earth, ushering in a literal 1000-year reign on earth by binding Satan, gathering and saving all Israel, and reigning with the resurrected saints. This reign will begin with the binding of Satan (Rev 20:4). Christ will then usher in the literal 1000-year earthly reign and completely fulfill all promises, specifically regarding the land (Gen 17:8). The literal thousand-year kingdom on earth will enable the completion of the Davidic (2 Sam 7:11-16), Abrahamic (Gen 15:7-21), and New Covenant promises (Jer 31:31-40; Eze 36:24-30).   Supporting Scripture Genesis 15:7-21, 17:8; 2 Samuel 7:11-16; Jeremiah 31:31-40; Ezekiel 36:24-30; Acts 1:6-7, 3:19-21; Revelation 20:4.   Scriptural Tensions Luke 17:20-21 speaks of the kingdom of God as something that is not observable but already in our midst. John 18:36 – Jesus states that His kingdom is not of this world, making the literal establishment of his kingdom on earth problematic. 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 – Some take this verse to support the coming kingdom as a symbolic reign as opposed to literal, while premillennialists point to verse 23 as great support for a physical kingdom. Some interpret the first resurrection in Revelation 20:1-6 as speaking of salvation, which would shift the interpretation of the millennium. Finally, many will point to Matthew 24:34 as the reason why passages of Scripture often taken to support the premillennial perspective should be understood as being immediately fulfilled in AD 70. View 2 – Amillennialism   Amillennialism treats the 1,000-year reign of Christ as symbolic, happening now, or taking place exclusively in heaven, and certainly happening before the second coming of Jesus. This view is built around the idea that Christ, during His earthly ministry and following death and resurrection, ushered in His kingdom and authority over Satan, effectively welcoming a type of “Church age” or “millennium,” where Satan is bound, no longer able to deceive the nations, and therefore, the gospel can and will be spread to the gentile nations of the world.  Amillennialism does not believe that the Church will progressively redeem the earth until a final tipping point where Christ returns (as is popular in the postmillennial view), but rather believes that even though Satan is bound, sin is still present and active on Earth, therefore resulting in current tribulation and a call for the saints to endure. Amillennialism also allows for a greater, more intense tribulation in the future before the second coming of Christ. At that second coming, Amillennialists believe that sin is fully defeated, evangelism is finished, the final judgment occurs, and a new heaven and new earth are ushered in. There is no rapture of God’s selected people before the tribulation, nor is there a coming, literal 1,000-year reign after the second coming of Jesus and before the final judgment.   Supporting Scripture  Matthew 4:17, 12:29, 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; Romans 8:18-23; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, 50-57; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2;  2 Thess. 1:5-10; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 3:8-13; Revelation 20:3    Scriptural Tensions How to interpret 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, which seems to speak to a physical, bodily “rapture” or a calling up into the air before the Day of the Lord.How do we determine that the 1,000-year reign in Revelation 20:1-6 is symbolic?How to interpret Old Testament prophecy texts like Daniel 7 or Jeremiah 23. An Amillennial viewpoint would conclude that these texts were spiritually fulfilled during the life and ministry of Christ and are not prophetic of a future tribulation or time to come.One primary tension with amillennialism is that it leads to an over spiritualization of the Old Testament prophecies, leaning heavily away from a future, literal interpretation and claiming either a spiritual application or an eternity-specific application. View 3 – Postmillennialism Postmillennialism takes an optimistic view of the future in which the world will successfully be evangelized, and Christ’s kingdom will reign amongst the nations. This golden age will usher in the second coming of Christ and final judgment. Post Millennials believe the millennium is a spiritual reality in which Christ is reigning in heaven spiritually, while the earth is slowly coming under the reign of Christ through the spread of the gospel and the kingdom of God on earth. Once all the nations are “made a footstool,” Christ will return and “deliver the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15). They take spiritually the 1000-year reign of Christ in heaven, yet they take literally the fulfillment of the promise that the kingdom of God has come and the nations will literally be made a footstool by the success of the gospel throughout the world.   Supporting Scripture  Isaiah 2:2-4; Habakkuk 2:14; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:24-26; Revelation 20:1-6   Scriptural Tensions Matthew 24:21-22 – These verses seem to paint a picture that is very different from the golden age era that postmillennialists believe will precede Christ’s second coming. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 – The description of the last days in these verses suggests that they will be filled with moral decline and godlessness, which is the opposite of what post millennials believe. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – This scripture seems to paint a picture of decline and opposition to the gospel in the end times rather than the postmillennialists’ optimistic view.Revelation 20:7-10 – Some see this text as being in tension with the postmillennial view due to the ongoing conflict and final judgment described. Luke 17:26-30 – Another text that describes a decline in morality at the end rather than a gradual and optimistic evangelization of the world.  The Rapture Many noteworthy Christian scholars believe the Bible teaches that there will be a ‘Rapture’ of the Church, where God will remove His people from the earth to meet Jesus, the coming King, in the clouds. The idea is based primarily on a text in the New Testament, where the Apostle Paul describes a day when the Church will be “caught up” to “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). While a rapture of the Church may seem obvious from reading this one text, there are many Bible verses that complicate this prediction by indicating that followers of Jesus will remain on the earth through the duration of the Second Coming of Jesus.  There is another layer to the argument in determining whether this ‘rapture’ will take place before or after a tribulation period (known as the Pre-Tribulation and Post-Tribulation views). While there are multiple verses in Scripture suggesting that the Church will be rescued before a time of tribulation (Revelation 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; John 14:2-3), there are also a variety of verses suggesting the Church will be present during the infamous tribulation period (Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 7:13-14; 2 Peter 3:10-13).  Whether or not the Church will be ‘raptured’ is a matter of debate. Determining if this event occurs before or after the “tribulation period” of Revelation 6-19 adds an additional layer to the dispute. When the dust of the debate settles, what is certain is that followers of Jesus will be protected from the impending judgment of God that will come at the end of time. Thanks be to God for sending Jesus to rescue us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10)!  Origin: The term ‘Rapture’ was coined, and the argument was kindled in the 19th century by John Nelson Darby and other premillennialist thinkers. However, it is worth noting that rapture-esque ideation was present as early as AD 90 (Shepherd of Hermas) and present in third and fourth century commentary (Commentary on the Apocalypse).    Supporting Scripture  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, John 14:2-3, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, Revelation 3:10, Philippians 3:20-21, Titus 2:13.   Scriptural  Tensions Matthew 24:29-31 – This passage seems to suggest that the gathering of believers (which some equate with the rapture) happens after the tribulation. It begs the question, is there a ‘rapture’ in this picture that Jesus gave? If so, what is the purpose if the tribulation has already passed?2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 – This text suggests believers will be “gathered” after the tribulation period and the arrival of the “man of lawlessness.” Unless this is a post- or mid-trib rapture, this text seems to contradict the idea of a Pre-Tribulation rapture, and it supports views against belief in rapture.Revelation 7:13-14 – This text suggests there are Christians present during the tribulation period. Either people convert during the tribulation or the Church is present during the tribulation, according to this passage.Luke 17:34-27 – If Jesus is saying that the “dead” person is the one taken, then this text suggests that it is the unbeliever who is removed, not the believer who is ‘raptured’.Revelation 20:4-5 – This text is problematic for rapture views because:  It appears Christians are alive during the tribulation (beast) period.It appears that the resurrection of the dead takes place after the Tribulation and after the Millennium. Those holding to a pre-trib rapture suggest this ‘first resurrection’ is of tribulation saints (people who come to faith during the tribulation), and the ‘second resurrection’ is of the lost (who resurrect after the Millennium). Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43 –  In this analogy, Jesus suggests believers (wheat) will remain on earth until the time of the judgment (when the weeds will be removed). This is problematic for the rapture theory because it does not appear as though the “wheat” is removed before the “weeds.”

For the promises you’ve made, we bless you, Jesus. For the promises you’ve kept, we bless you, Jesus. For how far you’ve brought us, we bless you, Jesus. For how faithfully you’ve held us, we bless you, Jesus. For how generously you’ve given to us, we bless you, Jesus. For your reign on the throne, we bless you, Jesus.   Desperately and expectantly, we wait for you, Jesus. Actively and not idly, we wait for you, Jesus. Filled with your spirit, we wait for you, Jesus. When our days are prosperous, we wait for you, Jesus. When our evenings are tragedy, we wait for you, Jesus. Until you return, we wait for you, Jesus.   As we go on our ways, be our strength, Jesus. As we love our neighbors as ourselves, be our compassion, Jesus. As we give without repayment, be our example, Jesus. As we live as strangers in a foreign land, be our home, Jesus. As we speak boldly of what you’ve done, be our courage, Jesus. As we put our hands to work, be our rest, Jesus.   Like a mighty rushing wind, maranatha, come King Jesus. With healing in your wings, maranatha, come King Jesus. Just like you said you would, maranatha, come King Jesus. Our salvation and our peace, maranatha, come King Jesus. Our hope and righteousness, maranatha, come King Jesus. The King of the Universe, maranatha, come King Jesus.