Ezekiel Saw the Messiah Enter the Millennial Temple

This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies. For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.  Ezekiel’s final vision of the Son of God is found in Ezekiel 43. This vision is of a future event, when the glory of Yahweh will fill the temple built during the Millennium.[1] […]

Announcing, One Thousand Years with Jesus: The Coming Messianic Kingdom

I am privileged to announce the publication of my new book, “One Thousand Years with Jesus:  The Coming Messianic Kingdom,” through Wipf & Stock.  I have studied the future millennial reign of Jesus for the last decade.  And in that time, I have compiled hundreds of pages of notes.  But instead of writing a great […]

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.  […]

Present Age, Millennium or Eternal State? New Testament – Part 4

The majority of New Testament passages pertaining to the Millennium are those that teach on the kingdom, when Jesus returns to reign from His throne (Matt. 25:31-34).  One of the most striking is Matthew 8:11: I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the […]

Present Age, Millennium or Eternal State? Minor Prophets – Part 3

ZEPHANIAH Zephaniah 3:9-20 is a noteworthy summary of the Millennium, with a focus on blessings for both Jew and Gentile.  Verses 9-10: “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond […]

Present Age, Millennium or Eternal State? Isaiah and Daniel – Part 2

ISAIAH Isaiah contains far more millennial passages than any other book in Scripture, including some of the most descriptive and comprehensive.  Following the classic depiction of the Millennium in Isaiah 11:6-9, is the instructive 11:10-12: In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his […]

Present Age, Millennium or Eternal State? Torah and Psalms – Part 1

Passages on the Millennium are found regularly throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.  Many fail to recognize this because a given writer did not explicitly mention a thousand year reign of the Messiah.  This is not a problem, as the specificity of the thousand years in Revelation 20 is a product of progressive revelation.  However, […]

A Biblical Survey of the Kingdom: Not Yet – Part 5

There is a popular theory on the Kingdom of God, first developed in the early 20th century by Geerhardus Vos, known as already but not yet.  The notion holds that the saints are currently partaking in the kingdom, while at the same time awaiting its arrival in a fuller and more glorious expression.  There are […]