The purpose of this research is to examine the major areas of disagreement among the theological views of amillennialism, premillennialism, and postmillennialism. The plan of the research will be to set forth working definitions of each of these Christian eschatological views, and then to discuss, with reference to appropriate sources, where the principal areas of disagreement in the various positions lie.
In order to appreciate the meaning of the three views just cited, it is useful to examine the meaning of the root word on which they are based. The word millennium derives from Rev. XX, which describes the thousand year or "millennial" reign of Jesus Christ with the just, who are resurrected for the purpose. This reign, which will be marked by holiness and righteousness, is to begin, according to Rev. XX.1 2, when the angel comes down from heaven to bind up Satan for the entire period. Implicit in the term millennium, therefore, is a moral universe in which good is guaranteed to triumph over evil. After the thousand years is up, the devil "must be loosed a little season" (Rev. XX.3). The various millennial positions are not confined to an interpretation of Rev. XX, however; they are aimed at a more all embracing interpretation of the bible in general and Revelation in particular as the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the either the general fate of the universe or the particular circumstances of the New Testament that appear to show a fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament.
Controversy surrounds the Christian interpretation of this text, and the disagreements that have arisen because of it have
been divided into three major categories. The controversy appears to be centered principally on these issues: whether the text of Rev. XX and indeed the whole of the bible is meant to be taken as a literal or symbolic description of the second coming of Christ and the transformation of the world; the chara...