Problems with Premillennialism

Premillennialism is the belief that Christ will return before (pre) the millennium. The millennium is the 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20. The Premillennial view has a long history, and many great men have believed it (e.g. John Gill, Charles Spurgeon, etc.). With that being said, I find that the evidence in Scripture for many Premillennial beliefs is weak at best. I’m writing this article to show some of the problems with certain aspects of Premillennialism, but I’m not doing it with the intent of bashing anyone’s views. If Premillennialism is correct, I want to know! But if the challenges I’m about to put forth are valid, then maybe it’s time to abandon this view.

One quick note: there are two main types of Premillennialism: Dispensational and Historic. Some of these challenges would apply to both types, and others would only apply to the Dispensational variety. Now for the challenges.

1. The millennium. Does the Bible even teach that there will be a millennium? Rev. 20 does mention “a thousand years” (vv. 2,3,4,5, etc.). But is this enough to prove the idea of a literal 1,000 year millennium? I would argue, no. First, it is very dangerous to base a view on one lone passage. Many cults have been started this way. If you want to make a case from the Bible, it’s best to have several passages from which to make your case. There is no other passage in all of Scripture that mentions a millennium. Second, this passage is in Rev. 20, one of the most confusing, highly debated chapters in the Bible. Third, the book of Revelation is one of, if not the most, symbolic books in all of Scripture. In fact, the very first verse in Revelation hints to the fact that the book is not literally describing certain events, but rather, it is symbolizing or “signifying” (sign-ifying) events that would take place (Rev. 1:1). Fourth, the Bible often uses the number 1,000 (or 10,000) in a figurative sense (Ps. 50:10; 91:7; 105:8; Song. 4:4; Isa. 7:23; 1 Cor. 4:15; 14:19; etc.). So, “1,000” often just means a large number. I believe the 1,000 years in Rev. 20 is simply a long period of time, specifically, the church age.

2. The premillennial return. If the 1,000 yrs. in Rev. 20 is describing the church age, then Premillennialism is destroyed. But, let’s say for a moment that the millennium is a literal 1,000 yrs. Then would the Bible teach a premillennial return of Christ? Again, I would argue, no. The idea that Christ returns before the millennium comes from the idea that chapter 19 of Revelation is describing Christ’s return. Does it? Not explicitly. Chapter 19 does say that Jesus is in heaven (v. 11). And, it does say that His saints “followed Him” (v. 14). They are following Him into battle (v. 15). This battle takes place on the earth (vv. 17-21). Does this then prove that Jesus returns to earth (chap. 19) before the millennium (chap. 20)? No.

First, remember, this is only one passage. If you only have one symbolic passage to back up your view, your view is probably wrong. Second, it doesn’t actually say that Christ comes to earth in chap. 19. It says that Jesus is in heaven and that His people follow Him, but it doesn’t say that either of them are going toward the earth. Jesus can fight those on earth while He is in heaven. In Rev. 2:16, Jesus says that He will fight against those in the church of Pergamos (in the 1^stcentury). He wasn’t talking about coming back to earth, He was talking about coming in judgment. Jesus is God; He can fight His enemies on earth while He’s in heaven. While I don’t have room here to get into my view of Rev. 19, my point is that the only passage that may speak about a premillennial return, doesn’t explicitly say that. Which means that there is no passage in all of Scripture that explicitly teaches a premillennial return. Sounds like a weak view to me.

3. Jesus reigning on the earth for a thousand years. Is there any verse that says that Jesus will rule on earth for 1,000 years? Nope. Many think that Rev. 20:4 says that Jesus will reign on earth for the millennium. Read that verse carefully. It says no such thing. Only if you assume that Rev. 20 is talking about a literal 1,000 yrs., and you assume that Rev. 19 is talking about the return of Christ, can you assume that Rev. 20:4 takes place on the earth. That’s a lot of assuming, and not one verse in the whole Bible explicitly says that.

4.The rapture. Here’s another widely held belief that is never explicitly stated in the Bible. The Bible does say that Jesus is coming back. But it never says that He is coming back to snatch us away to heaven. Here are the so called “rapture” passages:

Matt. 24:36-42. This passage does say that some people will be “taken.” However, they’re not taken to heaven, they’re taken in judgment, just like the flood in Noah’s day “took” people away (vv. 37-39).

John 14:2-3. This is the best evidence for the rapture, and yet, it never says that Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven (read it carefully!). It says that (after His death) He was going to go to heaven, and it says that He will “come again” to earth. But it never says that He will take us back to heaven.

1 Cor. 15:51-54. The event described here must be at the Last Day, because at this event, death will be no more (v. 54). So, this cannot be the rapture, because according to that view (at least for most) a lot of death is going to take place after the rapture. And, again, this passage never says that Jesus is going to take us to heaven.

1 Thess. 4:14-17. This passage does say that we who are alive at Jesus’ coming will be caught up to meet Him. This passage does say that He is returning. But it never says that He’s coming to take us to heaven (again, read it carefully!). In this passage, Jesus is headed to earth. But, there is no mention of Him reversing course to go back to heaven. You might ask why we would meet Him in the air, just to come back to earth. In Paul’s day, Roman officials would often be met by the people as they returned from war (if they won). The people would go out to meet their leader, form a victory parade, and march back to the city. This was the practice in ancient Israel as well (see Jdg. 11:32, 34; 1 Sam. 18:6-7). We will go up to meet our Leader as He returns to earth.

Rev. 4:1. Some have tried to say that this is a “rapture” passage. However, the only person in this passage who is called “up” is the apostle John. This isn’t describing a rapture either. There is no passage in all of Scripture which explicitly says that Jesus is going to come back and take us to heaven. Jesus is coming back, but it will be to a restored earth, where we will live with Him forever (see Rom. 8:19-22; Rev. 22:1-5).

5. Sacrifices being offered in a rebuilt temple as a memorial to Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross. Thankfully, fewer and fewer people believe this view. But, many still do believe that during the millennium, while Jesus is ruling from a rebuilt Jerusalem, the OT sacrifices will resume in a rebuilt temple. Of course, the idea of the OT sacrifices resuming is complete blasphemy. Jesus’ sacrifice put an end to the OT sacrifices (Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-4, 11-12; etc.). No one wants to be accused of blasphemy, so those who hold to this view had to come up with a reason for the sacrifices to resume. The reason they made up was that God wants the sacrifices to resume as a memorial to His Son’s sacrifice. I say they “made up” this view because there is not one verse in all of Scripture which says that God wants us sacrificing animals as a memorial of His Son’s death. If you can show me from Scripture, I’ll believe you. No one has been able to show me yet.

In conclusion, Premillennialism has had many supporters over the centuries. Some of them were godly & knowledgeable men. But since many of their central beliefs have little (or no) biblical support, I think it’s time to reevaluate Premillennialism. There are other views of the end times which do have verses that explicitly teach the things that they believe. For a brief intro to my view, please see my article entitled: Is Jesus Coming Soon? Not Likely. If you have answers to these challenges that I have laid out, I would love to hear them. While I do have strong opinions on these things, I’m not above correction. You can get in touch with me through the “contact us” page of my website.