What is your Eschatology — Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, or Amillennialism?

In this video from the Ask Anything Tour, Dr. Mohler answers a question on which view of the millennium he holds to, premillennialism, postmillennialism, or amillennialism?

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[hmichaelshultzjr]

Historic Premillennialism is experiencing a revival, and I am so glad you are open about it. Thank you Dr. Mohler for clearly teaching for all these years, and for being so consistent throughout your time.

[jodyhart]

I like Pastor Mohler, but I think he shortchanged the Amillenial position. This was the standard view of the Church universal until the mid 1800’s. This is a view that I have come to rest upon after being somewhat of a Dispensationalist for decades. Even though we may disagree, that does not mean that we are not brothers in Christ. Too often people in all three camps think that their view is the mark of a True Christian.

[maxartemas]

As a postmillennialist, none of us believe we are "making the world better so Jesus is satisfied enough to come back." We believe Jesus is sanctifying the world and preparing His bride before He comes back.

[ShagVT]

I appreciate the charitable spirit of your answer, Dr Mohler, but this is the first time I have heard you represent opposing views in a way those who hold them would not recognize them as their own.

I am aware of no amillennialist or postmillenialist who would agree with your summary of their position. Literally none.

[scienceandbibleresearch]

Amillennialism teaches that Christ is reigning now over the entire cosmos from heaven. The dead in Christ reign with him in heaven and the alive in Christ who are on earth are also reigning with him in spirit here on earth. That's why the defeat of Satan and the Great White Throne Judgment takes place after the thousand years are ended (Rev 20:7-15). It's not a literal "one thousand years" like Premillennialists suppose. And God already fulfilled all of his promises to ancient Israel (Joshua 21:43-45, 1 Kings 8:56).

[spencerchapman]

I don't buy the WWI argument against postmillennialism. The black death in the 14th century killed half of Europe, and in some towns 1 out of every 4 people you saw were going to be dead in the next 24 hours. I'd say that's pretty grim, arguably more so than WWI, and yet there are more Christians in the world today (over 2 billion) than there were in the entire world in the 14th century (less than 500 mil). I also don't agree with the characterization that Christians will make the world a better place to Jesus's satisfaction for him to return. The last enemy that is thrown into the lake of fire is death and hades, which means all other enemies will have been defeated or put into submission, which means that over time Christ's gospel is going forth into the world as more and more people submit to Christ. So if God is putting all Christ's enemies under submission (foot language in Psalm 110) and the last enemy is death and hades before the new heavens and new earth, then it follows that more of the world becomes Christian.

[schausage]

News paper eschatology. Not a lot of scripture.

[dzamb]

I found it interesting how quickly he dismisses Amillinealism by saying it's nowhere in scripture. You might as well dismiss all of the other metaphors used in the new testament.

[brandonbooth]

I love Dr. Mohler and his work. I have massive respect for him and I am even a student at the school he is the president of (Souther Baptist Theological Seminary). But I must say that this isn't a very fair representation of Amillennialism. Dr. Schriener (an SBTS professor) described Amil as more accurately called "Present-millennialism" since it holds to the teaching that the millennial reign is a symbolic amount of time that is happening now and began with Christ's resurrection from the dead. Satan was bound at the defeat of the cross and His power to deceive the nations is hindered as the Gospel goes forth. Other scholars have pointed out that if you remove Revelation 20 from the Bible, there really is no grounds for the pre-mil position as no other passage even alludes to a literal thousand year reign on the earth. Given it is an unclear passage in apocalyptic genre, we are always to interpret the unclear passages of scripture in light of the clear passages of scripture. No where else in the New Testament (or Old) do we see something like an thousand year reign before the final judgement. We see Christ coming once and for all, judging the living and the dead, and making all things new in what appears to be a single coming.

There are many more things to say, but Kim Riddlebager book on Amillennialism was a great resource.

Again, nothing but respect to Dr. Mohler. I understand he has the challenge of answering a deep theological question in 5 minutes that people have written tens of thousands of pages on over the past 2, 000 years. I just wanted to add that there is more to the amil position than "we don't believe there is a millennial reign."

[jackpickel]

So refreshing to see these young people seeking biblical answers to theological issues. Maybe there is hope for the future!

[Standupontherock]

It's my opinion that most older Christians' (over 60) views on this subject are pretty much set in stone, due mostly to tradition, and they wouldn't be open to any other views. However, younger Christians are more open, diligently studying the scriptures as well as external sources, and forming their own opinions. For those of you who are interested in diving deeper, I would recommend reading "Before Jerusalem Fell, " by Dr. Kenneth Gentry. He presents all three of the major views along with supporting evidence for each of them. I would also recommend " The Last Days According to Jesus" by Dr. R.C. Sproul. Your view on eschatology will shape the way you interpret much of scripture as well as the current and future roles of the Church.

[jamesb]

My kingdom is not of this world. Christ reigns right now at the right hand of the father and will do so until all his enemies are under his feet. Postmill.

[malcolmandrews]

Of course, as an Amillennialist I have to complain about his terrible explanation of my position. I know that he is just doing a q&a, but c’mon man!

[randomname]

If you want a perfect example of someone reading their newspaper into their Bible this video is a good one. If you fault the postmil view becoming less attractive to people because of major wars then people before and after those wars were not mainly concerned with what scripture said anyways. Postmil makes the most sense with the biblical promises, poetry and the great commission. Add in the incredible explanatory power of partial preterism and you can’t be a premil and the positive statements in scripture about Christ reigning make being postmil the only choice.

[RobertHarbitzII]

Am I missing something because no premillennialist I’ve ever heard believes it’s gonna be a sinless thousand years that’s not biblical at all.

[erichochstetler]

I don't think Amil necessarliy precludes a future earthly reign of Christ and his church as described in Rev 21-22. I think the common thought is that the 1000 years in Rev 20 is basically the church age with the resurrection being spiritual not physical. The conflict described in versus 20:7-10 is the same as Rev 19 :19-21.

[annakimborahpa]

1. I'm torn between identifying as either a Post Cerealist or a General Millsyist because Coca Pebbles and Cocoa Puffs are that similar in taste, even if different in texture.
2. Even if I was an amillenialist, I would still sing A-MEN at the end of hymns, rather than A-MIL.
3. Should Al Mohler convince me into becoming a premillenialist, then I would also consider myself a Mohlerialist, but not a malarialist since I avoid mosquitos.
4. If ever I did survive tribulation to live during an earthly millenium, then I would request some Milleni Vanilli flavor ice cream.
5. If an amillenialist prepares their eggs with chopped up bits of ham, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers, would they also be considered an omelletialist?

[jakeman]

Revelation 20:1-6 does not say that the 1, 000 year reign is on the earth. Having said that, it is possible that it is, but the text doesn’t say that.

[danielcastle]

What about the last two chapters of Revelation? New heavens & new earth? Seems the three views should agree on that as well but, if I heard you correctly, the end of the reign on earth begins eternity in heaven. How do you reconcile that against the backdrop of scripture?

[rogermetzger]

Disclaimer: I have no college degrees and I’ve never attended seminary classes.

My great grandparents identified with three different denominations. I suspect my grandmothers were both “followers” in the sense of only studying for the purpose of “proving” the correctness of what they had been taught.

I never thought of my parents that way however. Our parents read Bible stories to my siblings and me and encouraged us to memorize Bible passages from the Hebrew Bible, the Gospels and the Epistles. I had memorized more than 150 before I was ten. Repeatedly when I was a boy, my dad told me to “Read for yourself, study for yourself and think for yourself.” But our parents did more than that. They also encouraged us to read about scientists, inventors, politicians and theologians. It was clear to me that they wanted us to admire such people but WITHOUT idolizing them.

One book our parents bought for us and encouraged us to read was about Martin Luther. Another was about John Wesley. There may have been others I don’t remember. And they taught us how to study for ourselves using marginal references (aka cross references) and concordances.

I appreciate this video because this is the first time I’ve heard an explanation I could understand about how someone can think of the millennial reign being on Earth but only lasting a thousand years.

From my study of the history of eschatology, I’m aware that many people answer this question (“What is your Eschatology — Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, or Amillennialism?”) by giving one or more reasons they reject the two answers with which they disagree.

Before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the prevailing eschatology in Judea was the anticipation of a political messiah who would drive the Romans out of Judea and allow the Sanhedrin full autonomy in at least Judea and perhaps the entire area over which King David had reigned.

If you will read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 to 7) from that perspective, it may make it easier to understand why Jesus was considered a threat to the religious establishment of his day.

Beginning about the sixth century, the prevailing view in western Europe was that the millennial reign had already begun - i.e. the pope was the vicar of Jesus and some buildings were known as cathedrals because they contained the bishops’ thrones (from the Latin “cathedra” meaning “seat”).

In the fourteenth century, John Wycliffe, an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, Bible translator and reformer, began to encourage people to develop a personal relationship with God.

John Hus (aka Jan Hus) was born sometime around 1372 in the town of Husinec, Bohemia in the area now known as the Czech Republic. He, too, encouraged people to confess their sins directly to God. He was considered such a danger to the religious establishment, he was burned at the stake in 1415.

Henry VII was king of England from April 22, 1509 until his death in 1547. By the “Act of Supremacy (1534), the English Parliament recognized Henry VIII as “Supreme Head of the Church of England, thus renouncing allegiance to the papal system - which is ironic because, in the process King Henry became his own “little pope”.

The Church of England adopted some of the doctrines of Martin Luther and other reformers but some of the English didn’t think the reforms were adequate. Their attempt to “purify” the Church of England led to them being called “puritans”. The Mayflower Pilgrims and most or all of the other puritans who settled in North America in the seventeenth century prohibited Swearing, Drinking, Dancing, Theater, Christmas, Confession (to a priest), The sale of indulgences, Pilgrimages (as a means of obtaining merit or favor with God), Prayers directed to “saints” (people who had died and had been beatified), Clerical vestments, Kneeling to receive the bread of the Lord’s supper
and, at least in some circumstances, making the sign of the cross.

According to Albert Moler, post-millennialism - the teaching that Christian teaching would, over a thousand-year period, prepare the world for the return of Jesus - “was very attractive to a lot of Christains at the end of the nineteenth century.”

True. But people interested in understanding the context in which various Bible interpretations developed will be interested in a bit more detail about that.

The “congregationalists” of the eighteenth century were mostly descendents of the puritans who had dominated New England in the seventeenth century. In 1751, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) became pastor of the congregation in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He promoted the above-mentioned post-millennialism so effectively that it continued to be the prevailing view in the United States during the entire nineteenth century. In the twenty-first century - and even among people who don’t subscribe to Edwards’ view of Christians “preparing” the planet for the return of Jesus - it is common to hear people speak in terms of “making this world a better place in which to live”. I can admire Edwards’ optimism, even if I don’t agree with this eschatology.

Anyone who reads for himself, studies for himself and thinks for himself will, sooner or later, be considered heretical so I’ll just go ahead and refer to myself that way. The following is for anyone who might be interested in the way this particular heretic interprets some of the prophecies of the Bible.

It seems to me that most of the protestant reformers have employed most or all of the following principles in their interpretation of Bible prophecies:
1: Much of Bible prophecy is conditional. (The prophecy of Jonah is the best-known example.)
2: The gospel was preached to Abraham. (Galatians 3:8)
3. Some of the restoration prophecies were fulfilled after the Babylonian captivity.
4. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 (See also Romans 4 and the rest of Galatians 3.)
5: The 70-weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 has already been fulfilled.
6: We should look for events in history that can be considered fulfillment of Bible prophecies AND we should acknowledge the possibility that some prophecies may be in the process of fulfillment now AND the possibility that some prophecies may be fulfilled in the future.

Because I use these principles, I consider the following passages to all be references to a single event:
John 16:2 & 3 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
I Corinthians 15:51-54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Taken together, I understand these passages to mean that the purpose of the return of Jesus is to resurrect the people who have died in faith and take living believers with them to the mansions he has gone to prepare.

Heaven is the place from which the creator governs the universe.

This understanding allows for believers to reign with Jesus in a JUDICIAL capacity for a thousand years (I Corinthians 6:2 & 3), for believers to return to Earth in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2), for Satan and those he has deceived to compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, and for fire to come down from God out of heaven and devour them. (Revelation 21:9), for God to make a new (restored) Earth (Revelation 21:1) and for this planet to become the new heaven in the sense that, from then on, this planet will be the place from which he rules. Abraham will inherit the world (Romans 4:13) and they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7).