End Times: Premillennialism or Amillennialism?
In the ongoing debate between premillennialism and amillennialism, the most fundamental disagreement concerns the thousand-year reign of Christ in Revelation 20. Premillennialists believe the thousand years refers to a future reign of Jesus on earth, an intermediate kingdom between His Second Coming and the final consummation. But amillennialists believe it describes the current reign of Christ throughout the present age. For this reason, while premillennialism affirms an earthly kingdom between the present age and the eternal state, amillennialism denies this intermediate kingdom, arguing instead that the present age will be followed immediately by the new heavens and new earth. One of the most difficult problems for amillennialism involves the “first resurrection” in Revelation 20:4-6. In this passage, the apostle John describes individuals who “came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (v. 4), designating this coming to life as “the first resurrection” (v. 5). Ac