It is particularly challenging at the best of times trying to comprehend the various vicissitudes of the early Church teachings. Most of that is because we try to examine their theology through the lens of our modern theological norms. What adds to the complexity and perplexity is the fact that these ancient writings can be quite ambiguous, inconsistent and illogical at times. That is why the overall subject requires much deep, diligent and laborious study expended upon it in order to put all the multifaceted theological dots together accurately. It is only then that we can properly and precisely discern the ancient landscape, see a definite pattern and establish where these ancient writers were coming from. What may surprise many, as they survey the early religious map, is that there was a remarkable commonality of thinking across the eschatological spectrum in regard to their expectation of the nature of the world to come. In fact, whatever angle you look at it from, the prevailing beliefs of the early Chiliasts and early Amillennialists were similar on many core issues.
Both main positions believed that:
· Sin and sinners will be destroyed at the second coming.
· Mortals and mortality will be destroyed at the second coming.
· Satan and his demons will be destroyed at the second coming.
The future millennium the early Chiliasts anticipated was a perfect unspoiled arrangement devoid of the awful results of the Fall. This is altogether different to that which is advocated by modern-day Premillennialists, who see all the bondage of corruption continuing after Jesus comes in all His majestic glory. Sin and sinners, dying and crying, decay and disease, and Satan and his minions can all be found in the Premillennialist age to come. In fact, these increase gradually over the course of their millennium to the degree that Satan is able to mobilize a gargantuan army of followers to surround Christ and the saints before the great white throne.
So, if early Chiliast theology was in fact as we describe it (and it was), when then did they believe Jesus would reign over His enemies? After all, modern-day Premillennialists across-the-board teach that that occurs in their future millennium.
The ancient Patriarchs on all sides taught that Christ was currently reigning over His enemies in this existing age. They held that there was nothing that was not under His sovereign power. They saw that rule coming to an end at the return of Christ (which they understood as “the consummation”), when all of His enemies would be finally and eternally destroyed. This is another evidence of the similarity between them and early Amillennialists.
The early Chiliasts anticipation was completely different to that which modern-day Premils hold today. Early Chiliasts envisioned a future millennial age that would be devoid of the wicked, corruption and sin. We have many explicit statements from them that describe an all-consummating return of Christ. Ironically, many of the Scriptures that modern Premils present to justify the bondage of corruption continuing on the future earth are used by ancient Chiliasts to relate to the kingly reign of Christ in our age and the ongoing great commission. We have statement after statement that show a victorious Christ exercising supreme sovereign authority – both in heaven and on earth – ever since His coronation, after defeating every enemy of man and God. Christ is king. He rules over both creation and His new creation. Dr. Stephen Seamands submits: “The early Christians believed that when Jesus ascended into heaven he had been installed and exalted as King, reigning as Lord of all.”
As we analyze the evidence, we see many passages that are traditionally used by Premillennialists today to support their doctrine, and then contrast these with how the ancients viewed them, we see a very different mind-set and an alternative application to what is widely accepted within Millennialist circles. Messianic passages like Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Isaiah 2, Micah 4 and Isaiah 66 that most commentators agree relate to the kingly reign of the anointed One during the Messianic period are applied to the here-and-now rather than a millennial period after the second coming. This is not insignificant.
The ancient Chiliasts taught a realized theology. They saw the First Advent as the defeat of Satan and his minions. They taught that Christ vanquished every opponent of righteousness through His sinless life, His atoning death and His glorious resurrection. These early writers recognized, that regardless of the exploits of Israel’s ancient leaders (prophets, priests, kings, and judges,), they were imperfect and simply preparatory to the coming perfect prophet, priest, king, and judge who was the eternal personification of peace. They believed and taught that the Messiah brought peace to His subjects after His great conquest. They equated the peace described in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 with that which believers experience when they encounter Christ during the intra-Advent period.
They believed that this supernatural peace comes through the success of the Gospel going out of Zion to all nations in these last days. The evidence of this was said to be seen in the Gentiles turning to Christ in significant numbers. Like modern Amillennialists and Postmillennialists, they had a very positive estimation of the accomplishments of the great commission upon the Gentile inhabitants of the globe. That was because they were seeing the fruit of the Gospel expanse to village after village, town after town, city after city, and nation after nation, with their own eyes.
Early Church Chiliast writers viewed this current age as the glorious Messianic reign of Christ over His enemies. This was the triumphant result of His earthly labors. They were consistent in connecting the reign of Christ upon His heavenly throne over the His enemies (since His coronation) with the going forth of the Gospel to the nations through the great commission. One is seen to facilitate the other. These early Millennialists believed that Christ’s enemies were now under completely subjection to His will. This in turn facilitated the free flow of the Gospel out to the nations. In their writings, there is absolutely no doubt about the starting point, and finishing point, of Christ’s Messianic reign. It began at the First Advent and ends at the Second Advent.
