Millennialism, or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian
denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which
"Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal
state. This belief is derived primarily from Revelation 20:1–6. Millennialism is
a specific form of millenarianism. Similarities to millennialism are found
in Zoroastrianism. It held that there were successive thousand-year periods,
each of which will end in a cataclysm of heresy and destruction, until the final
destruction of evil and of the spirit of evil by a triumphant king of peace at
the end of the final millennial age. "Then Saoshyant makes the creatures
again pure, and the resurrection and future existence occur".
Various other social and political movements, both religious and secular,
have also been linked to millennialist metaphors by scholars.
Christianity = Early church=
During the first centuries after Christ, various forms of chiliasm were to be
found in the Church, both East and West. It was a decidedly minority view that
gradually accumulated opposition expressed in nearly universal
condemnation, beginning with Augustine of Hippo. Millennialism was eventually
repudiated as a heresy in A.D. 381 at the First Council of Constantinople with
its addition of the phrase "whose kingdom shall have no end" to the Nicene
Creed, in order to rule out the idea of a Kingdom of God which would last for
only 1000 literal years. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the 2nd century
proponents of various Gnostic beliefs also rejected millenarianism, among them
Marcion, who was himself declared a heretic.
Millennialism was nevertheless taught by various earlier writers such as
Tertullian, Commodian, Lactantius, Methodius, and Apollinaris of Laodicea
in a form now called premillennialism. According to religious scholar Rev. Dr.
Francis Nigel Lee, "Justin's 'Occasional Chiliasm' sui generis which was strongly
anti-pretribulationistic was followed possibly by Pothinus in A.D. 175 and
more probably by Irenaeus". Justin Martyr, discussing his own premillennial
beliefs in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Chapter 110, observed that they
were not necessary to Christians: I admitted to you formerly, that I and
many others are of this opinion, and [believe] that such will take place, as
you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many
who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think
otherwise." Melito of Sardis is frequently listed as
a second century proponent of premillennialism. The support usually
given for the supposition is that Jerome [Comm. on Ezek. 36 ] and Gennadius [De
Dogm. Eccl., Ch. 52] both affirm that he was a decided millenarian.”
In the early third century, Hippolytus of Rome wrote:
And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath
may come, the rest, the holy day "on which God rested from all His works."
For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints,
when they "shall reign with Christ," when He comes from heaven, as John says
in his Apocalypse: for "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years." Since,
then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6, 000 years must be
fulfilled.. Around 220, there were some similar
influences on Tertullian, although only with very important and extremely
optimistic modifications and implications. On the other hand,
'Christian Chiliastic' ideas were indeed advocated in 240 by Commodian; in 250 by
the Egyptian Bishop Nepos in his Refutation of Allegorists; in 260 by the
almost unknown Coracion; and in 310 by Lactantius. Into the late fourth
century, Bishop Ambrose of Milan had millennial leanings.
In a letter to Queen Gerberga of France around 950, Adso of Montier-en-Der
established the idea of a "last World Emperor" who would conquer
non-Christians before the arrival of the Antichrist.
= Reformation and beyond= Christian views on the future order of
events diversified after the Protestant reformation. In particular, new emphasis
was placed on the passages in the Book of Revelation which seemed to say that
as Christ would return to judge the living and the dead, Satan would be
locked away for 1000 years, but then released on the world in a final battle.
Previous Catholic and Orthodox theologians had no clear or consensus
view on what this actually meant. Millennialist theories try to explain
what this "1000 years of Satan in chains" would be like.
Various types of millennialism exist with regard to Christian eschatology,
especially within Protestantism, such as Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, and
Amillennialism. The first two refer to different views of the relationship
between the "millennial Kingdom" and Christ's second coming. Premillennialism
sees Christ's second advent as preceding the millennium, thereby separating the
second coming from the final judgment. In this view, "Christ's reign" will be
physical. Postmillennialism sees Christ's second coming as subsequent to
the millennium and concurrent with the final judgment. In this view "Christ's
reign" will be spiritual in and through the church. Amillennialism basically
denies a future literal 1000 year kingdom and sees the church age
metaphorically described in Rev. 20:1–6 in which "Christ's reign" is current in
and through the church. The Catholic Church strongly condemns
millennialism as the following shows: The Antichrist's deception already
begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within
history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through
the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this
falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism,
especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.
A millennium is a period of one thousand years, and, in particular, Christ's
thousand-year rule on this earth, either directly preceding or immediately
following the Second Coming. The millennium reverses the previous
period of evil and suffering; it rewards the virtuous for their courage while
punishing the evil-doers, with a clear separation of saints and sinners. The
vision of a thousand-year period of bliss for the faithful, to be enjoyed
here on earth, exerted an irresistible power. Although the picture of life in
the millennial era is almost willfully obscure and hardly more appealing than
that of, say, the Golden Age, what has made the millennium much more powerful
than the Golden Age or Paradise myths are the activities of the sects and
movements that it has inspired. Throughout the ages, hundreds of sects
were convinced that the millennium was imminent, about to begin in the very
near future, with precise dates given on many occasions.
Premillennial sects look for signs of Christ's imminent return. Other chiliast
sects, such as the prophetic Anabaptist followers of Thomas Müntzer, have
believed that the millennium had already begun, with only their own members
having realized this fact. Consequently, they have attempted to live out their
own vision of millennial life, radically overturning the beliefs and practices of
the surrounding society. In doing so, they offered a model of the good life
and expressed their hope that soon the rest of the world would follow and live
like they did. See Christian eschatology for a
discussion of "premillennialism" and "postmillennialism".
= Utopianism= The early Christian concept had
ramifications far beyond strictly religious concern during the centuries
to come, as it was blended and enhanced with ideas of utopia.
In the wake of early millennial thinking, the Three Ages philosophy
developed. The Italian monk and theologian Joachim of Fiore claimed that
all of human history was a succession of three ages:
the Age of the Father the Age of the Son
the Age of the Holy Spirit It was believed that the Age of the Holy
Spirit would begin at around 1260, and that from then on all believers would be
living as monks, mystically transfigured and full of praise for God, for a
thousand years until Judgment Day would put an end to the history of our planet.
In the Modern Era, some of the concepts of millennial thinking have found their
way into various secular ideas, usually in the form of a belief that a certain
historical event will fundamentally change human society. For example, the
French Revolution seemed to many to be ushering in the millennial age of
reason. Also, the philosophies of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx
carried strong millennial overtones. As late as 1970, Yale law teacher Charles
A. Reich coined the term "Consciousness III" in his best seller The Greening of
America, in which he spoke of a new age ushered in by the hippie generation.
However, these secular theories generally have little or nothing to do
with the original millennial thinking, or with each other.
= Jehovah's Witnesses= Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ
will rule from heaven for 1,000 years as king over the earth, assisted by 144,000
holy ones. The principal purpose of this millennial reign is to resolve the
question of who legitimately deserves to be sovereign of the Earth and of the
universe. It also serves to finally accomplish the Creator's original
purpose of an Earth populated by a peaceful, satisfied and loving human
society, descendants from the first human couple Adam and Eve. This will
happen after the destruction of the wicked at Armageddon.
Armageddon will be a decisive battle between two opposing forces: on one
side, Christ Jesus together with the holy angels; in opposition, human
governments and institutions insistent on maintaining control over humanity.
Unlike natural or manmade catastrophes, Christ and his angels will selectively
destroy those humans deemed incorrigible. Planet Earth will be rid
of greed, corruption, and all individuals and institutions who
impenitently ruin the earth and impose misery on others.
Malevolent spiritual beings will be restrained and prevented from
interfering in human affairs for the duration of Christ's reign. Free of
untoward influences, the Witnesses see the 1,000 year reign as fulfillment of
the Biblical promise of "New Heavens and a New Earth".
One aspect which differentiates Jehovah's Witnesses from other
millennialists is the interpretation of 2 Peter 3:7, 13. Whereas the latter hold
to a literal interpretation, namely that the planet Earth will be destroyed and
replaced with another physical planet, Jehovah's Witnesses by contrast believe
the language in 2 Peter 3:7 is figurative. Hence their understanding is
that the literal planet Earth will not be destroyed but instead, the existing
framework of human society, which includes greedy commerce, divisive
religions and corrupt governments. Christ's kingdom consists of those who
govern and those who are governed. This government will accomplish in the
comparatively short timespan of 1,000 years all the things human governments
and institutions have promised during thousands of years of rule, while
experimenting every form of government imaginable. Jesus Christ, the Messiah,
will be the 'head of state', or King officially designated by God. In turn,
he will delegate authority to 144,000 select individuals, individually chosen
by Jehovah from among humanity. Those chosen have already proven their
complete allegiance to Jehovah God and to His legitimate right to govern. The
first to be promised this privilege were the faithful apostles of Jesus Christ in
the 1st century C.E. The rulers will be loving and fair, always intent on the
common good of everyone. On the earth, those who are kept safe
through that 'great tribulation' and the subsequent destruction of the world
ruled by Satan the Devil will be ushered into a just, peaceful, and equitable
earthwide society of humans. During the millennium, Christ will use his power to
cure every sort of sickness, malady, and infirmity. Ultimately everyone who
accepts living by Jehovah God's righteous standards will attain perfect
health. Guided by the heavenly government, humans will work to
progressively establish an earthwide paradise. Hunger and poverty will be
completely eliminated. Humans who died during all prior human
history will be resurrected on the earth during the 1,000 years. These will have
the opportunity to fully integrate into society.
At the culmination of the millennium, Christ will cede control of planet Earth
to his Father Jehovah and will himself acknowledge and accept Jehovah's right
to rule. The restraints on wicked spirit creatures will be removed and all
humanity will face a test. With full understanding, each human must
individually choose whether to accept or reject God's right to rule, his
sovereignty. Those humans and spirit creatures who reject rule by Jehovah
God, showing themselves to be menaces to human society and the remainder of the
universe, will be completely and permanently eliminated. For any of these
who may have been resurrected, this will literally be a "second" death.
Thereafter, obedient humankind will live forever on the earth and Jehovah God's
original purpose for the earth will be accomplished.
Judaism There is a not dissimilar belief in
Judaism. Time is split into 3 periods The world started in year 1, the epoch.
For almost two thousand years there was nothing, most people were idolatrous and
God's presence was not seen in the world. In 1812 BC, 1948 in Jewish years,
Abraham was born. The birth of the first forefather heralded two thousand years
of Godliness. This is the period of the Bible, the first and second temples in
Jerusalem etc. In 70 AD the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and
after the Bar Kokhba revolt, Jews were barred from Jerusalem except for the day
of Tisha B'av. This started a further two thousand years of non-Godliness.
Some Jews believe that the Messiah must come before the end of this period, or
by about 2270 AD. Nazism
The most controversial interpretation of the Three Ages philosophy and of
millennialism in general is Adolf Hitler's "Third Reich", which in his
vision would last for a thousand years to come, but which ultimately only
lasted for 12 years. The phrase "Third Reich" was originally
coined by the German thinker Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, who in 1923
published a book titled Das Dritte Reich. Looking back at German history,
he distinguished two separate periods, and identified them with the ages of
Joachim of Fiore: the Holy Roman Empire – – The Age of the
Father and the German Empire – under the
Hohenzollern dynasty – The Age of the Son.
After the interval of the Weimar Republic, during which
constitutionalism, parliamentarism and even pacifism ruled, these were then to
be followed by: the "Third Reich" – The Age of the Holy
Ghost. Although van den Bruck was unimpressed
by Hitler when he met him in 1922 and did not join the Nazi Party, the phrase
was nevertheless adopted by the Nazis to describe the totalitarian state they
wanted to set up when they gained power, which they succeeded in doing in 1933.
Later, however, the Nazi authorities banned the informal use of "Third Reich"
throughout the German press in the summer of 1939, instructing it to use
more official terms such as "German Reich", "Greater German Reich", and
"National Socialist Germany" exclusively.
During the early part of the Third Reich many Germans also referred to Hitler as
being the German Messiah, especially when he conducted the Nuremberg Rallies,
which came to be held at a date somewhat before the Autumn Equinox in Nuremberg,
Germany. In a speech held on 27 November 1937,
Hitler commented on his plans to have major parts of Berlin torn down and
rebuilt: [...] einem tausendjährigen Volk mit
tausendjähriger geschichtlicher und kultureller Vergangenheit für die vor
ihm liegende unabsehbare Zukunft eine ebenbürtige tausendjährige Stadt zu
bauen [...]. [...] to build a millennial city
adequate [in splendour] to a thousand year old people with a thousand year old
historical and cultural past, for its never-ending [glorious] future [...]
After Adolf Hitler's unsuccessful attempt to implement a
thousand-year-reign, the Vatican issued an official statement that millennial
claims could not be safely taught and that the related scriptures in
Revelation should be understood spiritually. Catholic author Bernard
LeFrois wrote: Millenium [sic]: Since the Holy Office
decreed that it cannot safely be taught that Christ at His Second Coming will
reign visibly with only some of His saints for a period of time before the
final and universal judgment, a spiritual millennium is seen in Apoc.
20:4–6. St. John gives a spiritual recapitulation of the activity of Satan,
and the spiritual reign of the saints with Christ in heaven and in His Church
on earth. Theosophy
The Theosophist Alice Bailey taught that Christ would return “sometime after AD
2025”, and that this would be the New Age equivalent of the Christian concept
of the Second Coming of Christ. Bailey stated that St. Germain is the manager
of the executive council of the Christ. According to Bailey, when Christ returns
he will stay the entire approximately 2,000 years period of the Age of
Aquarius and thus the New Age equivalent of the Millennial Age, when Maitreya
will reign as the spiritual leader of Earth as the Messiah who will bring
world peace, will not be just a single millennium but will be the Aquarian
bimillennium. Social movements
Millennial social movements are a specific form of millenarianism that are
based on some concept of a one thousand-year cycle. Sometimes the two
terms are used as synonyms, but this is not entirely accurate for a purist.
Millennial social movements need not be religious, but they must have a vision
of an apocalypse that can be utopian or dystopian.
See also References
Bibliography External links
Catholic Encyclopedia "Millennium and Millenarianism"