A Brief History of Early Premillennialism

Dr. Thomas Ice

I believe thatpremillennialism is so clearly taught in Revelation 19 and 20 that I stillcannot understand how anyone can think otherwise without realizing deep downthat they are going against the biblical text. A kingdom reign of the Messiah was just as clearly taught inthe Old Testament. Jesus and HisScripture writing disciples also support the notion of an earthly kingdomheaded by the Messiah. Suchclearness in the Bible provides the likely reason why the early church fatherswho spoke on this matter were all premillennialists.

The FirstPremillennialists

The firstpremillennialists were those who received God's revelation and wrote it down inthe Bible. Eusebius tells us thatone of the earliest church fathers that had heard the Apostle John and otherswho had known the Lord and His Apostles was Papias (a.d. 60-130) the bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, AsiaMinor. Papias taught "that therewill be a millennium after the resurrection of the dead, when the kingdom ofChrist will be set up in material form on this earth."[1] Irenaeus (a.d. 130-202) tells us that Papias "related that they hadheard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times" (themillennium) in book 4 of Papias' writings, which are no longer extant, except afew fragments. Papias is recordedas saying: "there will be a millennium after the resurrection from the dead,when the personal reign of Christ will be established on this earth."[2] Polycarp (a.d. 70-155), bishop of Smyrna, is also said to have been apremillennialist.[3] The Epistle of Barnabas (written between a.d.120-150) presents the common belief that "in six thousand years, all thingswill be finished. . . . then shall He truly rest on the seventh day." The writer speaks of the second comingof Christ with the clear implication that He will set up the thousand yearkingdom on earth, followed by the eight day or the eternal state.[4]

Justin Martyr (a.d. 100-165) in his Dialogue WithTrypho (@ a.d. 140), a Jewish man, made the following premillennialstatement:

But I and others, who areright-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be aresurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then bebuilt, adorned, and enlarged, as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and othersdeclare.[5]

Justinconsidered premillennialism an aspect of orthodoxy in his day.

And further, there was acertain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, whoprophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed inour Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that thereafter thegeneral, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men wouldlikewise take place.[6]

Irenaeus andTertullian

Two of thegreatest ante-Nicene fathers were Irenaeus and Tertullian (a.d. 160-230). Irenaeus grew up in Asia Minor and was discipled byPolycarp, who knew the Apostle John. Irenaeus had a very extensive view of Bible prophecy in his last fivechapters of Against Heresies,which were suppressed throughout the Middle Ages by anti-premillennialists andrediscovered in 1571.[7] The restoration of a more literalinterpretation and reading of the early church fathers by manypost-Reformationists led to a revival of premillennialism in the early 1600s.[8] Irenaeus' writings played a key rolebecause of their clear premillennial statements. "John, therefore, did distinctly foresee the first'resurrection of the just,' and the inheritance in the kingdom of the earth,"he says, "and what the prophets have prophesied concerning it harmonize [withhis vision]."[9] Again, Irenaeus declares:

But when this Antichristshall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three yearsand six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will comefrom heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man andthose who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteousthe times of the kingdom.[10]

Tertullian, whogave us the Latin word "Trinity," was also a strong premillennialist. He makes his premillennialism clearwhen he says the following:

But we do confess that akingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only inanother state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for athousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, "let down from heaven,"which the apostle also calls "our mother from above;" and, while declaring thatour citizenship is in heaven, he predicts of it that it is really a city inheaven. This both Ezekiel hadknowledge of and the Apostle John beheld.[11]

Other EarlyPremillennialists

Anotheroutstanding premillennialist of the early church was Lactntius (a.d. 250-330) of North Africa. He wrote an important defense ofChristianity that was the first systematic expression of Christianity called TheDivine Institutes, whichincluded a section on prophecy. Lactntius said:

But when the thousand years shall becompleted, the world shall be renewed by God, and the heavens shall be foldedtogether, and the earth shall be changed, and God shall transform men into thesimilitude of angels, and they shall be white as snow; and they shall always beemployed in the sight of the Almighty, and shall make offerings to their Lord,and serve Him for ever.[12]

Virtuallyeveryone who wrote on this topic for the first two to three hundred years ofthe church's history were premillennialists. The list would include individuals like Clement of Rome, whowrote a letter to an early church around a.d.95;[13]Ignatius of Antioch, who is said to have been a disciple of the Apostles Johnand Peter. Early church traditiontells us that he was thrown to the lions in a.d.107.[14] Theophilus of Antioch (a.d. 115-181), who wrote one of thefirst accounts of primitive church history.[15] Tatian of Assyria, who died in a.d. 167; Melito, Bishop of Sardis, whodied in a.d. 170; ClemensAlexandrinus, who was a contemporary of Justin Martyr; Hippolytus, a discipleof Irenaeus, was martyred in a.d.230 for his faith. Victorinus,Bishop of Pettau who died in a.d.303; Methodius, Bishop of Tyre died in a.d.311; an Egyptian bishop named Nepos of the third century; Cyprian, Bishop ofCarthage was martyred in a.d. 258;and Commodians, a Christian historian, who wrote about a.d. 250.[16] Others could be added to the list.

Conclusion

It is generallyrecognized within the scholarly world of early church historians thatpremillennialism was the most widely held view of the earliest churchtradition. One of the leadingexperts on the doctrine of the early church is J. N. D. Kelly, who says,"millenarianism, or the theory that the returned Christ would reign on earthfor a thousand years, came to find increasing support among Christian teachers.. . . This millenarian, or 'chiliastic', doctrine was widely popular at thistime."[17]"The great theologians who followed the Apologists, Irenaeus, Tertullianand Hippolytus, were primarily concerned to defend the traditionaleschatological scheme against Gnosticism," explains Kelly. "They are all exponents ofmillenarianism."[18]

Philip Schaff,the dean of American church historians and himself a postmillennialist,provided the following summary of the early church's view of the millennium:

The most striking point inthe eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, ormillenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory onearth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the generalresurrection and judgment. It was indeednot the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but awidely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas, Papias,Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius.[19]

Europeanscholar and church historian, Adolph Harnack echoes Schaff and tells us, "Firstin point of time came the faith in the nearness of Christ's second advent andthe establishing of His reign of glory on the earth. Indeed it appears so early that it might be questionedwhether it ought not to be regarded as an essential part of the Christianreligion."[20]

The Bible is thesole basis from which a Believer in Christ should learn what is true. What others have believed down throughchurch history is really not the issue. However, when we believe the Bible teaches a particular doctrine, it isnot surprising that others who have read the Bible see the same thing. This is exactly what we find in theearly church in regards to premillennialism before allegorical interpretationbegan to dominate. Maranatha!

[1] Papias asquoted in Eusebius Ecclesiastical History,II vols, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926), Vol. I, p. 297.

[2] Papias, Fragments, chapter 6.

[3] Irenaeus, AgainstHeresies, book 5, chapter 33, paragraphs3-4.

[4] TheEpistle of Barnabas, chapter 15.

[5] JustinMartyr, Dialogue With Trypho, chapter80.

[6] JustinMartyr, Dialogue With Trypho, chapter81.

[7] Wilber B.Wallis, "Reflections on the History of Premillennial Thought," in R. LairdHarris, Swee-Hwa Quek, & J. Robert Vannoy, editors, Interpretation &History: Essays in honour of Allen A. MacRae(Singapore: Christian Life Publishers, 1986), p. 228.

[8] Jeffrey K.Jue, Heaven Upon Earth: Joseph Mede (1586-1638) and the Legacy ofMillenarianism (Dordrecht, Holland:Springer, 2006), pp. 110-13.

[9] Irenaeus, AgainstHeresies, book 5, chapter 36, paragraph 3.

[10] Irenaeus, AgainstHeresies, book 5, chapter 30, paragraph 4.

[11] Tertullian,Against Marcion, book 3, chapter 25.

[12] Lactntius, TheDivine Institutes, book 7, chapter 26.

[13] JesseForest Silver, The Lord's Return (NewYork: Fleming H. Revell, 1914), pp. 58-59.

[14] Silver, TheLord's Return, p. 60.

[15] Silver, TheLord's Return, p. 62.

[16] Silver, TheLord's Return, pp. 66-68.

[17] J. N. D.Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (SanFrancisco: Harper & Row,1978), p. 465.

[18] Kelly, EarlyChristian Doctrines, pp. 467 & 469.

[19] PhilipSchaff, History of the Christian Church,VIII vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973), vol. II, p. 614.

[20] AdolphHarnack, "Millennium," The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9^th edition (New York: Charles Scibner'sSons, 1883), vol. XVI, p. 314 cited in Renald E. Showers, ThereReally Is A Difference! (Bellmawr, NJ: TheFriends of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1990), p. 117.