The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4

II. Resurgent Premillennialism Stresses Literalism

But even in the early nineteenth century, when postmillennialism was the alleged “Protestant theory,” an increasingly active premillennialism ⁹ insisted on the literal, personal coming of Christ at the beginning of the millennium, to effect sudden destruction of an apparently triumphant Antichristian system and to set up His kingdom by supernatural means. ¹⁰ The British premillennialists came to be called Literalists as opposed to the postmillennialist “spiritualizers,” who saw in the millennial reign only the spiritual rule of Christ through an expanding and victorious church. The Literalists had a following in America, and with them the Millerites had some kinship. PFF4 414.2

1. OPPONENTS AGREE ON POINTS IN COMMON

On the destruction of Antichrist at the beginning of the thousand years, American postmillennialists and premillennialists stood together. In the 1840’s this was still generally held to involve judgments of God upon the Papacy, upon the nations supporting the Papacy, or upon apostasy in Protestantism—events that were considered more or less imminent. Many in both camps expected the preliminary cleansing of the sanctuary, at the end of the 2300 days, in their time; that is why many of William Miller’s most prominent opponents, both premillennialists and postmillennialists, attacked him less on his “1843” time emphasis than on the events expected. ¹¹ PFF4 415.1

2. Two SCHOOLS OF PREMILLENNIALIST INTERPRETATION

For some reason the dominance of postmillennialism lasted longer in America than in England, but the influence of the British Literalists was strongly felt on this side of the Atlantic before 1840. The two schools of premillennialists, the Literalists and the Millerites, worked together because they were united on the two principal points that had come down from the early church—(a) the premillennial personal advent, with the kingdom set up by direct divine intervention, and (b) the Historicist interpretation of prophecy. Thus they stood together on the belief that the Bible societies and world missions would not convert the whole world, but that conditions of evil would prevail until Christ comes to bind Satan, resurrect the saints, and then begin His millennial reign. PFF4 415.2

With these beliefs in common, the Millerites fraternized with the Literalists in the 1840’s, although differing with them on the nature of the millennial kingdom. ¹² Further, they were allies against the postmillennial “spiritualizers” of the millennium, and against the rationalistic Preterists and the pro-Catholic tendencies of the Futurists. But in America the Futurist aspect hardly entered until much later, the stalwart premillennialists there being strongly Historicist, as were many in Britain. PFF4 415.3

3. VIEWS OF THE HISTORICAL PREMILLENNIALISTS

The Historicist positions of the British Literalists on the millennium are approximate to those outlined by Hamilton. Dividing modern premillennialists into several groups, he begins with what he calls the “Historic premillennialists,” ¹³ whose teachings are summarized thus: Antichrist, developing during the Christian Era, is to make a final assault on the church just before the advent. At the close of this great tribulation Christ comes, the dead in Christ rise, the living righteous are transformed, the Jews repent and believe, and all are taken up to meet the Lord in the air. Then Christ and the saints descend, Antichrist is destroyed, the wicked are condemned to eternal punishment, Satan is bound, and the millennial kingdom is set up. At the close of the millennial period Satan is loosed, the nations follow him in rebellion and are destroyed by fire. Then the resurrection of the wicked and the final judgment are followed by the new heaven and earth and the eternal kingdom. PFF4 416.1

There are different views of the nature of the millennial kingdom—whether it is ruled by the Jews or the martyrs, or the whole church united, whether the Jews rule in the flesh on earth while the church rules in heaven—and there are various ideas as to the restoration of the Temple, the harmonization of the Old Testament eschatological prophecies with the New Testament prophecies of the second advent, and the relationship between the saints with spiritual bodies and the untransfigured “nations.” Some of the views of these “Historic pre-millennialists” were descended from ancient times, as has been mentioned. PFF4 416.2