Millennial Views Following the Ante-Nicene Church: Postmillennialism and Conclusion – Part 4

POSTMILLENNIALISM In the late 17th century, the Unitarian Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) developed a new alternative to both Premillennialism and Amillennialism: Postmillennialism.[1]  Just as the name suggests, Postmillennialism is the belief that Jesus will return after the thousand years of Revelation 20.  In this scheme, the Millennium, whether literal or figurative for a long period, is […]

Millennial Views Following the Ante-Nicene Church: The Reformation – Part 3

THE REFORMATION Augustine’s influence was so dominant that Amillennialism went largely unchallenged until well into the Reformation.  On why Premillennialism did not make an immediate return at that time, John MacArthur explained: The Reformers had it right on most issues. But they never got around to eschatology. They never got around to applying their formidable […]

Millennial Views Following the Ante-Nicene Church: Augustine and Amillennialism – Part 2

AUGUSTINE Augustine was the bishop of Hippo, living from AD 354 to 430.  He remains a vaunted theologian, having a profound influence on Christianity in the West in his day and later on Roman Catholics and Protestants alike.  Augustine serves as the cardinal figure in the turning away from Premillennialism.  He once held to the […]

Millennial Views Following the Ante-Nicene Church: Origen and Allegory – Part 1

The death of Lactantius in A.D. 325 marked the end of Premillennialism as a commonly held belief in the church until after the Reformation of the 16th century.  No doubt there were some saints that read the Scriptures and believed what they said on the Messianic Age, but extant teachings on the matter are few.  […]