Understanding the Millennial Reign of Christ

Millennium is a term derived from the Latin mille meaning "a thousand". The term "Millennium" per se is not found in the Scriptures but is used by many evangelicals to identify the period of "one thousand years" which John mentions six times in Revelation 20. Other synonyms for "Millennium" include "Millennial Kingdom", "Messianic Kingdom", "1000 Year Reign of Christ", "Messianic Age" and “literalistic chiliasm”. As outlined below, the characteristics of the "Millennium" are described in considerable detail in the Old Testament, albeit this period is never specifically defined as 1000 years in the OT text.

It is interesting to read the definition of "Millennium" from Webster's dictionary: Millennium (Mil*len"ni*um) n. [LL., fr. L. mille a thousand + annus a year] the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 during which holiness is to prevail and Christ is to reign on earth.

The Three Basic Approaches to Interpretation

In simple terms there are 3 basic approaches to interpretation of "1000 years" in Revelation 20 summarized as follows:

• Pre-millennial: Christ will return before the 1000 years.
• Post-millennial: Christ will return after the 1000 years. This view holds that the gospel will triumph over evil and not the visible second coming of Jesus Christ.
• Amillennial: No literal, visible millennium on earth. This view holds that Satan is bound and the church is experiencing the millennium now.

In fairness, it should be noted that this summary is meant to be a generalization and does not seek to go into the various arguments or permutations of belief of the post- and a-millennial views.

Principles of Literal Interpretation

One of the most important rules for accurate interpretation is to allow the Scripture to speak for itself, reading the text for the normal, plain sense, as long as the context allows. If the plain sense of the Biblical text makes good sense in context, then one should seek to make no other sense out of the inspired text for fear that the conclusion may end up as sheer non sense. Utilizing this admittedly simple and even somewhat simple minded approach, it is difficult to overlook John's declaration that there is a 1000 year period in which Jesus Christ will reign and rule on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings.

In fairness, it should be acknowledged that there are many good and godly people who disagree with the literal interpretation of Revelation 20 which leaves the non-literal interpretation as their only option. By default, they must resort to allegorical, spiritual or symbolic interpretation. A non-literal interpretative approach opens one to the vulnerability of fallen man's ingenuity and imagination. The inherent dangers of non-literal interpretation should be readily apparent, as the difficulty of defining when an interpretation is too allegorical, too spiritualized, or too symbolic is one of the major reasons there are so many conflicting and confusing interpretations on the book of the Revelation.