Has the definition of Premillennialism changed in the past few decades? I ask this because during the past several years, a few pastors told me they were Premillennial, but they didn’t adhere to a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation or the restoration of a kingdom to Israel.
For me, Premillennialism has always signified a belief in Jesus’ return to earth after a literal seven-year Tribulation at which time He will setup His thousand-year rule over the nations of the earth, which certainly includes a gloriously restored Israel.
What’s causing the shift away from these beliefs that were a mainstay of Bible-believing churches for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?
Could it be that just as with the Rapture, there’s a stigma attached to it because of the errant assumptions that people make about Premillennialism?
Let’s examine some of the popular lies that Christians often accept as facts.
PREMILLENNIALISM BEGAN WITH DARBY
In spite of overwhelming evidence that Premillennialism dominated the first three centuries of the church, many scoffers insist it began with John Darby, which alone makes it unacceptable to them.
The early church ascribed to a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation, which included Jesus’ reign over the nations (20:1-10). In his book, Dispensationalism Before Darby, Dr, William C. Watson wrote:
The early church fathers overwhelmingly believed in the return of Christ to set up an earthly millennium.[1]
Author and defender of the faith, Justin Martyr (AD 100-165), affirmed a strong belief in “the premillennial return of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous before the beginning of the thousand-year kingdom.” He summed up the passion of early believers in this quote from his famous book, Dialogue with Trypho:
But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah declare…. And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem.[2]
In my book, The Triumph of the Redeemed, I document Premillennial beliefs in the following key early church theologians:
Papias (AD 70-163)
Irenaeus (AD 130-202)
Tertullian (AD 155-240)
Lactantius (AD 240-320)
Because many of the early church fathers believed that God had rejected the nation of Israel, some who also believe this today refer to themselves as “historic premillennialists.” However, those who identify as such routinely reject both a literal tribulation and the thousand-year reign of Jesus, both widely-held beliefs during the first three centuries of the church. There’s nothing historic or Premillennial about what most historic premillennialists believe.
BELIEF IN ISRAEL’S RESTORATION BEGAN WITH JOHN DARBY
Other critics of our hope mistakenly teach that belief in Israel’s future restoration began with John Darby, whom they designate as the “father of dispensationalism.”
Dispensationalists divide history into different dispensations that describe God’s varying ways of interactions with the human race. The age of innocence in the Garden of Eden comes first with periods such as the Law followed by the current age of grace occurring after that. They believe that God will once again turn His attention to Israel, beginning with the Tribulation, which will lead to the nation’s repentance and restoration during Jesus’ millennial rule, which is the final dispensation.
Was John Darby the first theologian to teach a future restoration of Israel and divide biblical history into varying dispensations? No, he was not.
Dozens of theologians and writers during the sixteenth and seventeenth century believed that Jesus’ thousand-year rule would include His restoration of a kingdom to Israel. Isaac Newton (1642-1726), based on his study of Daniel and the book of Revelation, predicted that Israel would become a nation in the future. Below is a summation of his beliefs, which closely mirror dispensational beliefs today:
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