CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
(1) Premil is totally preoccupied with, and dependent upon, one chapter in the Bible – Revelation 20. It interprets the rest of Scripture in the light of its opinion of one lone highly-debated chapter located in the most figurative and obscure book in the Bible. All end-time Scripture is viewed through the lens of Revelation 20. This is not a very wise way to establish any truth or doctrine. Take this passage out of the equation and Premillennialism has nothing in the inspired pages to support their main tenets. Amils have a problem with, and very much disagree with this form of hermeneutics and exegesis of many Scriptures.
Did you reject your hermeneutics before or after you decided to reject Premillennialism? It seems to me that one would do well to rely on clear passages of scripture in order to shed light on those less understood. In my view, Revelation 20 is not only clear, it is explicit and without ambiguity. I see no reason to allegorize or spiritualize that passage in order to make Amillennialism work.
Not only this, but we find the Millennial kingdom all through the Bible, even if it goes by another name in those locations. Isaiah chapter 11, for instance, describes the Millennial kingdom, which is a time when Zion will be ruled by the shoot of Jesse and the nations will come to Zion to seek his wisdom. Also see Micha 4:2 We can list many other passages that speak about a coming time when the Lord will rule over the entire world from Mt. Zion.
(2) Premil hangs its doctrine on a very precarious frayed thread: that of Revelation 20 following Revelation 19 chronologically in time. To hold this, it has to dismiss the different recaps (or different camera views pertaining to the intra-Advent period) that exist throughout the book of Revelation, divorce it from repeated Scripture on this matter and also explain away the clear and explicit climactic detail that pertains to Revelation 19. Premil is dependent upon the dubious premise that Revelation 20 is chronological to Revelation 19. That is it! Disprove that and Premil falls apart.
Premillennialism doesn't depend on Chronology. Premillennialism relies on logic and the implied, obvious sequence that the concept requires. Jesus comes before the Millennial period because the Millennial Period can't start without him. He is the essential, central figure of that time period when the day of the Lord has begun and the Lord rules from Zion. Even without the book of Revelation, one can deduce this from the rest of the Bible.
(3) The detail Premil attributes to Revelation 20 compared to what the actual text explicitly says is day and night. Revelation 20 does not remotely say what Premil attribute to it. Many extravagant characteristics, events and ideas are inserted into Revelation 20 that do not exist in the said chapter.
For example:
For years, it has been the Premil mantra that Jesus will be ruling in majesty and glory with a rod of iron for 1000 years on planet earth after the second coming. But this can be found nowhere in Revelation 20 or any other passage in Scripture?
The duration of the Millennium comes from Revelation, but the idea of a righteous kingdom and a righteous king ruling on earth from the city of Jerusalem is well supported in the Biblical text.
Premillennialists argue that salvation will continue on after the second coming. But where does it say that? The second coming brings a close to the day of salvation. Scripture makes clear: now is the day of salvation.
I'm not sure all Premillennials believe that salvation continues after the Second Coming. But I see no reason why not. The scriptures don't rule this out. God can save anyone he wants at any time he wants.
Nevertheless, Revelation 20 predicts an event whereby some portion of the world rises up to do battle against the city of Jerusalem. By this we know that the world is still a mixed population of saints and enemies of the gospel. It's conceivable that during the 1000 years, someone might come to saving faith.
It also shows the completion of the great commission ushers in the end of the world (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus speaks about the end of the "age" not the end of the world.
Scriptures tells us that “the longsuffering of our Lord” that marks the period before Jesus comes as a thief in the night “is salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). There is no more salvation after that.
According to the Premil view, the patience of the Lord ends at the White throne.
They argue that the old covenant arrangement will be fully restarted in a future millennium, even though Revelation 20 makes no mention of such teaching.
Revelation 20 mentions the fact that judges are set up. Justice is carried out according to the rule of law, and the Law of Jerusalem at that time will be the law of Moses, with a slight modification. There is no need for animal sacrifices. Other than that, Jeremiah says that the Law will be written on their hearts.
The "beloved city" of verse 9 is Jerusalem.Premillennialists speak about the restoration of an elevated position for ethnic Israel on their future millennial earth. But a careful study of Revelation 20 teaches no such thing.
They insist that glorified saints and mortal sinners will interact in a future millennium, even though Revelation 20 makes no mention of such a belief.
The beheaded martyrs come back to life. They are ruling over the tribes of Israel. Refer to Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30
(4) Premillennialists interpretation of Revelation 20 contradicts numerous explicit climactic Scriptures. Premillennialists have to insert “a thousand years” in passage after passage where it does not exist. This is called adding unto Scripture, something forbidden in the Word of God (Deuteronomy 12:32 and Revelation 22:18).
In my video on the Day of the Lord I liken the coming of Jesus and the day of the Lord as a story, which begins slowly and builds to a climax, followed by a time of resolution. That is, the Day of the Lord isn't the second coming as such. It's rather like the art of story-telling, the Day of the Lord would be known as “the middle”, also known as the “rising action” which includes the events that lead up to the climax. The “Turning Point,” also known as the Climax, is the peak of action in the story. It’s where the opposing forces of the conflict meet head-on, or an important decision is made or action is taken. The Day of the Lord is the middle and the second coming of Christ is the climax. The story continues with the events that come after the climax known as the "falling action". The Millennial Kingdom is the falling action, the time period after the Second Coming, during which the story is explained and resolved.
(5) Premil is always explaining away the clear and explicit New Testament Scripture (the fuller revelation) by the shadow, type and vaguer Old Testament. It uses indistinct or misunderstood Old Testament Scripture to negate and reject clear and explicit New Testament Scripture that teaches otherwise. We Christians have the benefit of the New Testament to explain what is difficult or obscure in the Old Testament. Christ has superseded the old covenant arrangement and now fulfils the new covenant arrangement as predicted. The New Testament is the greater revelation. The interpretation placed on the Old Testament by Christ and the New Testament writers override all other opinions and interpretations of man. As Augustine wrote: “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.”
In my experience, I would caution those who take Augustine's axiom too far, which can lead one to inadvertently change the intended meaning of OT passages by superimposing interpretations of the New Testament onto them. One must be willing to correct faulty interpretations of New Testament passages. In fact, Augustine's axiom can only be seen in retrospect after both the New Testament and the Old Testament are understood on their own terms.
I am a premillennialist because I passages in the way they were intended.(6) Many testify that they are Premillennial because they take the Word of God literal, yet, when you put their theology to the test an opposite picture unfolds. Premillennialism spiritualizes the literal passages and literalizes the spiritual passages. Their hyper-literalistic approach to highly-figurative Revelation is a case-in-point. Their own hermeneutics actually forbids their beliefs. As Kim Riddlebarger says: “Their own hermeneutics will not bear the weight that is assigned to it … they cannot make good on their own stated hermeneutics”