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What is Historic Premillennialism?

There are several systems of thinking when it comes to End Times eschatology. The major views are Amillennialism, Postmillennialism, and Premillennialism. There are two kinds of Premillennialism: Dispensational Premillennialism and Historic Premillennialism. Of the two, Historic Premillennialism is the least well-known, but it is also the oldest view and the most comfortable with not knowing all the details of exactly how the End Times will play out. I was recently on a podcast called The Basement from the Wrath and Grace Network and Saint Life Media in which we had a discussion about Historic Premillennialism. Here is some of what we shared:

Short Descriptions of Amil, Postmil, and Premil

Although there are many different views of the End Times, all of those who hold to these positions love Jesus and are united with one another because of Him. Our disagreements on these issues are not enough to break fellowship with one another, so just a reminder to listen and learn from one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Amillennialism says the entire Church Age from Christ’s first coming until His second coming is the millennium. The millennial kingdom is not a literal 1,000 years of Christ reigning on earth; it is being fulfilled spiritually right now as Christ reigns in our hearts. When Christ returns, there will be the final judgment and then the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Postmillennialism says believers in the Church Age yield to the Holy Spirit and over time create a Christianized world which ushers in the ideal conditions described in Revelation 20. When everything is just right, Christ will return, there will be the final judgment, and then the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Premillennialism says Christ will return to earth after the tribulation and reign with believers for a literal 1,000 years after which there will be one final battle where Satan is ultimately defeated and the New Heavens and New Earth appear. In general, Dispensational Premillennialists believe that Jesus Christ will rapture believers before the tribulation and then return to earth to set up His kingdom when the seven year tribulation is over. In general, Historic Premillennialists believe that the rapture and the second coming of Jesus are one and the same event which happens after the tribulation.

What’s the Difference between Dispensational Premillennialism and Historic Premillennialism?

In addition to the timing of the rapture/second coming of Jesus, there are other differences between Dispensational and Historic Premillennialism.

The Relationship between the Church and Israel

Dispensationalism is not just about eschatology. It’s a whole system of understanding the timeline of history and how God works with his people. It divides history into different dispensations or time periods that are marked by the covenants God makes with Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, grace through Jesus, and the Millennial Kingdom. It also sees Israel and the Church as two separate entities and God deals with one at a time. Since God deals with one at a time, the Church will be raptured before the Tribulation so God can finish working with Israel and fulfilling the prophecies given to Israel in Daniel 9:24-27. Once those are fulfilled, then the Church can return to earth with Christ to reign with Him for the Millennial Kingdom.

Historic Premillennialism sees unity between the Church and Israel. The Church has not replaced Israel, but they are joined together into one body of Christ. There is no need for God to remove the Church from the earth in order to deal with Israel. Here are three verses that convince me that the Church and Israel are one body of Christ:

Galatians 3:26-29 “26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Ephesians 2:11-13 “11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Romans 11. You can read the whole passage here, but it uses the analogy of a wild branch being grafted into the plant. The Gentile believers have been incorporated into the one plant of God’s people.

Interpretation of the Old Testament in Conjunction with the New Testament

In general, when it comes to eschatology, Dispensational Premillennialists try to fit the New Testament info into the Old Testament prophecies. For example, dispensationalists try to fit Revelation into the Daniel End Times timeline so that Daniel becomes the priority when studying Christ’s second coming.

Historic Premillennialism recognizes that during Jesus Christ’s first coming, the New Testament interprets the Old Testament in ways that would not necessarily be apparent when reading the Old Testament alone. For example, Hosea says “Out of Egypt, I call my son.” Matthew applies this verse as prophecy about the time that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus spent as refugees in Egypt. This is not apparent if you read Hosea on its own. Therefore, when the Bible speaks about Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, we may be surprised in exactly how the promises are fulfilled. They will be literally fulfilled, but we are open to exactly what the fulfillment will look like. Historic Premillennialists are free to say “I don’t know exactly what all the details of the Second Coming will look like, but I know that it will happen and God’s promises will be fulfilled.” This is not a cop out. It’s not the lazy route. In my opinion, Historic Premillennialism is the perfect balance of taking Scripture literally and delighting in the wonder and awe of “Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)

When were the Historic Premillennial and the Dispensational Premillennial Views Systematized?

The Historic Premillennial view seems to be the view of the early church fathers until Augustine and his City of God in which he describes Amillennialism which goes on to become a majority view. Postmillennial eschatology becomes popular about the same time since things were looking up for Christians during Constantine’s rule.

Dispensational Premillennialism does not appear on the scene until about 1830 when Bible teacher John Nelson Darby and his Plymouth Brethren group systematized what is known as Dispensational Theology. The Scofield Reference Bible popularized the view in the early 1900s in the United States.

How does Historic Premillennialism Impact the Way I Do Ministry?

  • Historic Premillennialism eliminates the scare tactics of the Left Behind mindset that the rapture can come at any second so we had better be really, really, really, really sure that we are ready. Not all dispensational premillennialists use scare tactics. There are many who do not. But there are some who do as the guys in the podcast share about their experience. The scare tactics aren’t just from the Left Behind series, which I’m not even sure that people younger than 35 years old are even influenced by them anymore. There will always be news-watchers who are on the look out for anything that looks like stuff of the End Times. There is one good thing about the urgency created by entertaining the possibilities of the End Times being near: they remind us to urgently share the gospel with our unbelieving friends and family members.
  • Historic Premillennialism allows us to comfortably sit with the unknowns rather than lifting up a system which has so neatly wrapped up every possible End Times detail. Again, this is not the experience of all people who hold to dispensational theology. Many dispensational premillennialists acknowledge the unknowns. But like the guys in the podcast share, in their dispensational upbringing, they were under the impression that if they did not believe in dispensational theology, their salvation was in question. The Church needs to do a better job letting people have questions and ask questions. It’s okay to answer “I don’t know, but here are some possibilities” about eschatology and other issues that are not central to justification. Young people are asking questions about their faith. Make sure they can entertain their questions in the Church or they will go outside the faith for space to think.
  • Historic Premillennialism is consistent in its view of suffering. Some who hold to a Dispensational view take the Church out of the world before the Great Tribulation in part because God has not destined us for wrath which is interpreted not just in an eternal sense, but in a what-we-experience-on-earth sense. Is there a difference between suffering and persecution in this time in history and the suffering and persecution during the Great Tribulation? There are a variety of opinions. However, throughout Scripture, there are times when God protects His people without completely removing them from the earth (Noah in the ark, Israelites in Egypt). A removal from the earth is not mandatory for God to protect his people.
  • Historic Premillennialism frees me to identify with God’s people in Scripture. When I teach preschoolers at church, I say “God’s people” when talking about the believing Israelites and I’m able to make a body of Christ connection with our faith ancestors. This makes the Old Testament and our Jewish roots much more personal when I remember they are brothers and sisters in Christ. The Church is not wholly other or a parenthesis in God’s overall plan.

What Difficulties are there in Historic Premillennialism?

Ezekiel’s temple in Ezekiel 40-48 is difficult to interpret no matter what one’s eschatology is. I admit I envy the ease with which the Amillennialists can say “ah, it’s just an impressionist painting of the New Heavens and New Earth.” But that answer isn’t completely satisfactory to me because any time there are chapters of Scripture spelling out exact measurements of a structure, the structure is to be literally built. But then what does one do with the animal sacrifices in Ezekiel’s temple? Dispensationalists have no problem here because of the emphasis on Israel in the Millennial Kingdom. But this doesn’t quite make sense. Hebrews is clear that there is no place for animal sacrifice after Christ’s sacrifice. I’ve heard lots of explanations. The sacrifices remind us of Christ, they are just for fellowship, and more. So what do Historic Premillennialists do with Ezekiel’s temple? Say, “I don’t know how, but it will be fulfilled literally on earth.” Some make more suggestions than that, but that is the bottom line.

We are not used to kingdom language. In the United States we elect our presidents. We are have a White House and the Oval Office. A king and a throne and a royal rule sounds strange to us. We can understand the idea of Christ ruling in our hearts now. But an earthly rule later? For 1,000 years? It just sounds weird. But we see the promise of Christ reigning on this earth. In Philippians 2, every knee will bow on earth. In 1 Corinthians 15, we will be here in our resurrected bodies. Christ will put things right here, on this earth first before we enjoy the New Heavens and New Earth.

Historic Premillennial Resources

Not a lot has been written lately on Historic Premillennialism. George Eldon Ladd is considered the expert. Here are his works and others:

Historic Premillennialism is the perfect balance of taking Scripture literally and delighting in the wonder and awe of “Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
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