We can divide premillennialism into two major types: historic and dispensational. We will examine the older version here and its younger “cousin” in the another section.
Historic premillennialism was widespread in the early church and variations of it predominated among the early church fathers up to the time of Augustine. Its adherents include significant names like Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Papias. This position’s popularity waned for centuries, but staged a revival in the twentieth due to the reflexive response some scholars had to a new brand of premillennialism. The list of such scholars includes John Warwick Montgomery, George Eldon Ladd, and J. Barton Payne. Henry Alford, the famous Greek scholar, formed a link between the original premillennialists of the early centuries and the historic premillennialists of today.
Blomberg and Chung provide a working definition of historic premillennialism:
In its simplest form, premillennialism refers to the conviction that Christ will return at the end of human history as we know it, prior to a long period of time, depicted in Revelation 20:1–7 as a thousand years, in which he reigns on earth, creating a golden era of peace and happiness for all believers alive at the time of his return, along with all believers of past eras who are resurrected and glorified at this time.1
The major tenets of historic premillennialism look like this:
We can better understand historic premillennialism by considering its answers the test questions we posed here:
Q. 1. What does this model teach about Israel after the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:18)?
A. Historic premillennialism moves one step away from amillennialism. “Historic premillennialists do not completely merge Israel and the church. In contrast to the tendency among classic amillennialists to discount any future role for the nation in God’s program, they note that Paul clearly expected a future for racial Israel (Rom. 9–11).”2 Historic premillennialists distinguish themselves from dispensational premillennialism by stressing “Israel’s salvation must occur in the same terms as Gentile salvation, by faith in Jesus as their crucified Messiah.”3 There will never exist another Jewish age.
Q. 2. What does this model teach about the thousand year reign of Christ as described in Revelation 20:2–7?
A. Historic premillennialism teaches a literal one thousand year reign of Christ on the earth following the church age.4
Q. 3. What does this model teach about the Second Coming of Christ in relation to the millennium?
A. As its name implies, historic premillennialism teaches Christ will return before the millennium.5
Q. 4. What does this model teach about the kingdom of God in history?
A. Historic premillennialism provides for the triumph of the kingdom of God on earth prior to the eternal state, but it portrays the church age as a time when that kingdom loses influence. Speaking of the church age, Ladd says, “Furthermore, it is clear that the Kingdom will not triumph in this age.”6 This view is pessimistic in its portrayal of the kingdom of God in the church age.
Footnotes
- Craig L. Blomberg, “The Posttribulationism of the New Testament,” in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to “Left Behind” Eschatology, ed. Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), xii.
- Stanley J. Grenz, The Millennial Maze: Sorting Out Evangelical Options (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2007), 138.
- George Eldon Ladd, “Historic Premillennialism,” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Robert G. Clouse (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1996), 28.
- Ladd, “Historic Premillennialism,” 17.
- Ladd, “Historic Premillennialism,” 17.
- George Eldon Ladd, The Last Things: An Eschatology for Laymen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 107-08.