The Catholic Church has long rejected pre-millenarianism as an approved doctrine; yet it was the predominant view of the ante-Nicene Church Fathers including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus of Rome, Tertullian, Cyprian, Barnabas and Lactantius and by deduction others who they had instructed or by whom they had been instructed. Such were supported initially by Augustine of Hippo together with a good number of his contemporaries inside as well as some breakaway groups outside the Church. It was initially Marcion who challenged the consensus in the second century; he was later clearly shown to be a heretic. The other key influences were Augustine who changed his mind and Origen of Alexandria who was inclined to a Platonic spiritualism. These colossi of the Western and Eastern Church ensured that Millenarian views came to be rejected by the fourth century, no doubt reinforced by the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine which transformed the Church’s perspective regarding its relationships with the political structures of the world. The Eastern Orthodox Church has regarded the final book of the New Testament (the Revelation of Jesus Christ provided to Him by God)828, as very much a mystery and is predominantly a-millennial. For an outline of why pre-millennial views had largely been abandoned by the Middle Ages, Wikipedia proves useful background829; the consensus being that (once again) Augustine’s influence was the key factor.
Yet such is God’s wisdom, for the vague and predominantly spiritualized eschatological understanding that the Apostolic churches in East and West have held for centuries has been perfectly suited to the recruitment process for Kingdom. Unlike early chiliasm, particularly in its perverted hedonistic form, the predominant Church teaching 825 Eph1:22
826 Ex19:6
827 Acts3:21
828 Rev1:1
829 Background to the development of Church’s approach to Pre-millennialism:
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since the beginning of the Middle Ages will have held little attraction to vain, faithless, materialistic glory-seekers and such are not the people the Lord has wished to recruit into His service. That was evident at His first visit, where the superior and erudite of the religious establishment were bi-passed and the angels’ “Good News of great joy that shall be to all people”830 was announced to shepherds on a hillside. Its propagation was spearheaded by an apprentice carpenter from Nazareth (of all places)831, who turned out to be the promised Messiah. He in turn had recruited uneducated fishermen and the like to support Him and they would go on to turn the world upside down. It is only now as the end of the age approaches that those who think of this as the millennial age depicted in Revelation are liable to become discouraged and be unprepared for the lead-up to what is to follow.
In terms of fleshing out more eschatological bones, the Bible does not lend itself to dogmatism in this area, nor has “e ye seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those that love Him”832. So, whilst Peter foretold the destruction of the heavens and earth at the time of Christ’s coming, he was in no doubt that a new heaven and earth would be created833. Others understand Peter’s reference to the vanishing sky and burnt-up earth to be a typical use of cosmic language to denote a cataclysmic event within the time-space universe, a hypothesis supported by extra-biblical writing of that period. Paul, John and Enoch all of whom were physically or spiritually transported to heaven to glimpse the future indicate that the Son of Man is coming to restore and liberate creation, although that will be a devastating and destructive event for those who continue to resist the Good News of His Kingship once that has been elucidated834. Most accept that planet earth and certainly the kosmos (world order) will be radically altered after Christ’s coming, though quite how different the former will be has not been elucidated. There have always been certain data the Lord would not supply to anyone, even those who were about to establish His Church835.