The following excerpt is taken in whole from “An Ecclesiastical Dictionary” by the Reverend John Farrar and exposes the Premillennialist Jewish fable. The early form of the millennial heresy is known as “Chiliasm” and “Millenarianism”.
MILLENARIANS. The doctrine of a millennium may be traced back to a very early period in the history of the church, and, with various modifications, was held by many of the most distinguished fathers. It originated chiefly in a false exposition of Scripture. The prophetic writings, and some passages in the Apocalypse, were interpreted literally, and thus made to correspond with the notions and prejudices of the Judaizing Christians. The first, according to the testimony of Eusebius, who introduced it was Papias, a man of slender capacity; who had published certain parables not recorded in the gospels, and various fables which he pretended to have received by unwritten tradition. It was subsequently embraced by Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, and others, but was attacked by Origen. It was defended by Nepos, an Egyptian bishop, and again refuted by Dionysius of Alexandria.
It was, however, common in the time of Jerome, who was himself one of its opponents. The following particulars embrace the views of the ancient Millenarians:
They thought that the city and temple of Jerusalem should be rebuilt, and splendidly adorned with gold and jewels; and that Christ, having come down from heaven to earth, all the just, both those who were before dead, and those who were still found alive, should reign with Him in the land of Judea for the space of a thousand years; at the expiration of which the conflagration of the world, and the last judgment, were to take place.
The descriptions which are given of this period of enjoyment are not marked by that spirituality of character which distinguishes the Christian paradise. The productions of nature were to be lavishly multiplied and prodigiously enlarged, to minister to corporeal delights. The earth was to pour forth spontaneously its harvests. The rocks were to exude honey, wine was to descend in streams, and the rivers to overflow with milk. Rich vineyards and luxurious fruits, delicious fare and immoderate banquets, were the pictures of bliss which they drew. Nations should serve them as slaves, princes should bow down to them, and aliens come and voluntarily offer gold, frankincense, and precious stones, as well as perform for them the menial offices of builders and ploughmen. Even wild beasts should be subjected to them. Considering that these Millenarians represented the enjoyments of the period as purely carnal, it is not surprising that Origen should represent the doctrine as a reproach to Christianity.
About the middle of the fourth century, opinions similar to the above were propagated, though divested, in some degree, of their carnality. The city of Jerusalem was to be rebuilt, and the land of Judea to be the habitation of those who should reign a thousand years on the earth. The first resurrection was not to be confined to the martyrs; but, after the fall of Antichrist, all the just were to rise, and all that were on earth were to continue for a time.
The scriptural account of the millennium seems to include the following particulars:
- The diffusion in our world of eminent holiness.
- A remarkable effusion of the Spirit, to bring about this period
- A universal diffusion of the Gospel, spreading the knowledge of the Lord throughout the world
- The purity of the communion, worship, and discipline of the church
- The special presence and indwelling of God in His church
- The diffusion of universal peace
- The cause of Christ will prevail in this world over that of Satan and his instruments, and the world will become one sanctified, adoring assembly.
The errors of the Millenarians have generally arisen from a literal interpretation of passages of Scripture, so far as it would serve their purpose, while they have overlooked the important fact that the prophecies of the Bible which bear on this subject are delivered in figurative language. The passage in Revelation 20, on which so much stress has been laid, is expressed in terms which it is impossible to interpret literally. Satan cannot be bound with a material chain. The key, the chain, the seal, must be understood figuratively. The whole appears to mean that, at a certain time, Christ will lay effectual restraint upon Satan, so that the powerful influence by which he had before deceived and destroyed a great part of mankind, shall be taken from him for a period. The supposition that Christ shall appear on earth in his human nature is contradicted by several parts of Scripture.
In this case it would be necessary that all the departed saints should descend with Him, or they would be no longer with the Lord. Those who are still on earth must cease to walk by faith, when they see the Lord. It can no longer be their experience, “Whom having not seen, we love”. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper can no longer be observed; for we show forth His death only till He come again. The Scriptures teach that He shall come again a second time: this system brings Him thrice. The Millenarian theory included the restoration of the Jews to their own land; but its ancient and modern advocates seem to have overlooked the fact that those Scriptures speak also of the restoration of the temple, and the priesthood, and the sacrifice; and therefore a consistent view would require a return to the old Dispensation. It is not the design of Christianity to sanctify places. It is intended to destroy national distinctions; certainly not to keep up the distinction between Jew and Gentile. One thing is certain: that, during eighteen hundred years, some Jews have been converted. They then lost their peculiarity; they amalgamated with the nations; and we can scarcely imagine that an honour, denied to those who have already confessed Christ, will be put on those who remain unconverted till this period.
Further comments
Premillennialists accuse Amillennialists of spiritualising the prophecies and promises to Old Testament Israel because Amillennialism teaches that they are fulfilled in and by the Church. Premillennialists call this “Replacement Theology. But the New Testament itself spiritualises these prophecies and promises. For example, the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus broke down the barrier between Jew and Gentile and brought them together to become one body – the Church (Eph 2:11-22). And the Church will last until the end of time (Eph 3:10, 21). More examples can be seen in John 18:36; Acts 15:14-17; Romans 2:25-29; 9:8; Galatians 4:19-31; Philippians 3:3; 1 Peter 2:9-10, to mention just a few.
Premillennialists also insist that modern-day Premillennialism was the prevailing view of the early Church until theologians such as Origen and Augustine changed it by their influence and teaching. However, the eschatology of the early Church was that of Chiliasm. John Calvin wrote “shortly after the chiliasts arose, who limited the reign of Christ to a thousand years. This fiction is too puerile to need or to deserve refutation. Nor do they receive any countenance from the Apocalypse, from which they extracted a gloss for their error (Rev 20:4), the thousand years there mentioned refer not to the eternal blessedness of the church, but only to the various troubles which await the church militant in this world” (Institutes Book 3, Chapter 25, 5).
Eschatological Views in the Early Church
The doctrine of a premillennial return of Christ (also known as ‘chiliasm’ or ‘millenarianism’) was not held universally, nor regarded as orthodox doctrine by all in the early centuries of the Christian church. The Church historian Eusebius writes about the views of an early Christian named Papias (70-155 AD). Papias wrote of himself that he received the truths of Christianity from those who were acquainted with the apostles. Eusebius (263-339 AD approx.) was one of those who did not hold a premillennial view; he says of Papias: “he set down other things as coming to him from unwritten tradition, amongst these some strange parables and instructions of the Saviour, and some other things of a more fabulous nature. Amongst these he says that there will be a millennium after the resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign of Christ will be established on this earth” (“Ante-Nicene Fathers” vol 1, “Fragments of Papias” p 154, Hendrickson Publ).
And Justin Martyr (100-165 CE), in his dialogue with a Jew named Trypho, admitted that while he himself held to a chiliast (millenarian) view, not every Christian did. The discussion is as follows: “And Trypho to this replied, ‘I remarked to you sir, that you are very anxious to be safe in all respects, since you cling to the Scriptures. But tell me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem, shall be rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the men of our nation, and other proselytes who joined them before your Christ came?’……..‘I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one thing, and think another. I admitted to you formerly, that I and many others are of this opinion, and [believe] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise’” (“Ante-Nicene Fathers” vol 1, “Dialogue with Trypho”, Justin Martyr, p 239, Hendrickson Pub.).
“The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church”, in its entry “Millenarianism” has: “In the early Church, Millenarianism was upheld principally among the Gnostics and Montanists, but also accepted by more orthodox writers, such as St Justin Martyr, St Irenaeus, and St Hippolytus of Rome. But though primitive Millenarianism lingered on in some places down to the end of the 4th cent., it received its death blow from Origen [185-254]…..At the Reformation the Anabaptists, as well as the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, were Millenarians in the strictest sense, while the 17th cent. Independents in England appear to have held similar views. In Germany the Millenarian view gained its widest currency in the Pietist Movement of the 17th and 18th cents., while in the 19th cent. new advocates of apocalyptic and Millenarian views arose in the USA and in Great Britain, among them the Irvingites, Mormons, and Adventists” (1963, p. 900-901).
But the form of Premillennialism held in the early Church was quite different to the Premillennialism of today. In Chiliasm, there was no rapture, no Great Tribulation, and no restored national Israel in a thousand reign of Christ on earth. The Israel of Chiliasm was a spiritual Israel i.e. all who confessed Christ as Saviour, regardless of ethnic or national origin. The Israel of Chiliasm was the Church that Jesus was building (Matt 16:18; Eph 2:13-22 cf 3:10, 21). And, despite that Augustine contributed to the abandonment of Premillennialism by the churches because of his so-called spiritualising of the prophecies, Chiliasm, in fact, died a natural death in the process of centuries, as first one date and then another for the return of Christ came and went. The doctrine changed repeatedly as Christians developed a better understanding of how the prophecies concerning Israel, the Church, and end-times, should be understood.
Dispensational Premillennialism is a false gospel because it has a restored national Israel reigning with Christ for a thousand years, with a fully restored Levitical priesthood complete with altar and animal sacrifices. And in order to implement this, Christ’s work on the cross and his unique priesthood (Heb ch 7) is shoved aside so that the “better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb 8:6 KJV) i.e. the New Covenant, could be revoked and replaced by the temporary and faulty Old Covenant (Heb 8:8-9); and God’s people put back under Mosaic law (Heb 8:10-13). Such a doctrine is utterly blasphemous, yet Premillennialists reject and vilify Amillennialism, which is thoroughly biblical and a faithful expression of the gospel and the New Covenant. They would dethrone God and nullify Christ’s finished work on the cross just so they can promote their own false gospel.
References
Farrar, John, 1878, “An Ecclesiastical Dictionary, Explanatory of the History, Antiquities, Heresies, Sects, and Religious Denominations of the Christian Church”, entry “Calvinists” p. 395-397, pub. Culley, Wesleyan Conference Office, London