Theological Digression: Pan-Millennialism

When it comes to end-times there are an incredible amount of views to choose from. People range from pre-millenial to post-millennial, from preterist to amillennial. Given the widespread confusion and disagreement, some people have chosen to be “pan-millennial” – they believe it will “all pan out in the end” and leave it at that. After all, this entire end-times discussion involves things that take place in the future, and whatever’s going to happen will happen. What difference does it really make?

I think it does make a difference and can impact the way we live our lives. It’s worth noting that this idea of “it’ll all pan out in the end” can’t be found in the Bible. In fact, Revelation actually has a special blessing to those who read and pay attention to it:

Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

It’s also worth noting that God didn’t have to give us any of these prophecies. In fact, Jesus told us that the very fact the Lord has given us these teachings indicate that we have a special relationship with God:

John 15:15: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

The Lord wants us to know His plans for history – not just the things He has done, but the things He is going to do. He’s told us where history is going and how it will end. That’s a pretty awesome thing to be told, and it’s definitely something we couldn’t have known ahead of time unless God revealed it to us. He’s given us an amazing glimpse into the future.

So how do your end-times beliefs impact the way you live? Well, let’s look at a few cases and see.

If you are pan-millennial then you believe that everything will pan out in the end. You aren’t really too concerned about the end of time. The end of the world isn’t something that is a great concern to you; it’ll happen whenever it happens. Meanwhile, you’re going to keep living your life day-by-day, trying to deal with whatever challenges life throws at you.

If you are a preterist then you believe that all of the scary end-times events in Revelation happened in AD 70, hundreds of years before you were born. You’re not the least bit concerned about the Tribulation or the Antichrist, and you think all this talk about a Rapture is just a lot of nonsense. If you are what’s called a “full preterist” then you believe that the final judgment, the resurrection, and the Second Coming have all already happened. Jesus isn’t going to come back, and the world is just going to go on the way it is now.

You don’t believe that Israel has any special place in the plan of God. All of the events in the Middle East have no special prophetic significance. Life is just going to keep going on the way it is now, day after day, year after year. All prophecy has been fulfilled and God’s plan is finished. You’re not really looking for anything else to happen.

If you are postmillennial then you believe that the world is going to keep getting better and better until the world becomes a perfect place, just before Christ returns. Since the world is an awful place right now and since Jesus won’t come back until the world is perfect, that means Jesus isn’t going to come back for a long time – probably not in your lifetime. You’re not looking for Jesus to come back anytime soon. The world may look bleak right now, but you just know things are going to get better.

You’re not looking for a Tribulation or Antichrist or anything like that, and you certainly don’t believe in a Rapture. On the contrary, you’re looking for a massive worldwide revival! It hasn’t happened yet but you know it will, someday.

The events in Israel are interesting but, like the preterists, it doesn’t have any prophetic significance. Israel is just another nation trying to get by in these troubled times. The fact that it’s a nation of Jews is kind of neat, but these days the Church is God’s people.

If you are amillennial then you believe that all of the scary events in Revelation are just symbolic. There’s not actually going to be a real Antichrist or Rapture or Tribulation or any of that; those verses were just talking about the struggle between good and evil. The millennium is also symbolic of the church age. You believe that things are going to keep on going the way they are now, until Jesus comes back and puts an end to it. You don’t really know when Jesus will come back, or even if His return is getting closer. It will happen when it happens. Meanwhile, you try to deal with life day by day. The end of time is interesting but there’s no way to tell how close it is, so it’s not a pressing matter. Chances are it’s a long way off.

Like the preterists, you don’t attach any special significance to the nation of Israel. It’s just another troubled country in the Middle East.

Before I talk about pre-millennialism, I’d like to point out that the four beliefs I’ve discussed so far all have several things in common: those who hold to them aren’t really concerned about the end of time, attach no significance to Israel, and aren’t expecting Jesus to return anytime soon. It’s not that they are indifferent (well, except for the pan-millennial crowd, I guess); it’s just that, according to their beliefs, Jesus either isn’t going to come back at all or isn’t going to come back for a long time. They don’t expect the world to come to a sudden and abrupt end. Life is just going to keep going on, and all this talk about an Antichrist and Rapture is just silly. In that respect it doesn’t matter which of these four beliefs you hold because you’re going to live your life the same way regardless.

But pre-millennialism is quite different. Those who hold to that school of thought believe that Israel’s rebirth in 1948 was a huge prophetic sign – a key indicator that these are the last days. They look at the events surrounding the Jews and see prophecy being fulfilled in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1967, in the way the whole world has turned against Israel, in Turkey’s allying itself with Israel’s enemies, and even in the Palestinian crisis. They believe that all of these things (and more) are a sign that there’s very little time left.

They really are looking forward to a Rapture, and a Tribulation, and a real Antichrist followed by a real thousand-year period where Christ reigns on Earth from Jerusalem. Of far greater concern, however, is that pre-millennialists have reason to believe that Christ may very well come back in our lifetime. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this paper (and I’ve discussed them elsewhere), but regardless, they are looking for the Rapture in the near future, followed by the awful period of the Tribulation.

If you believe that the Church is in its last days and has only a short time before the Lord takes it to Heaven and pours out His wrath upon the Earth, are you going to live differently than someone who believes that Jesus will never return at all or won’t return for centuries? I would certainly hope so! If the world is rapidly coming to an end then we have very little time to act before it’s too late. In that case, being “pan-millennial” is a great tragedy because that philosophy leaves you ignorant to the fact that you are almost out of time. People who believe that they have a thousand years left to reach a lost world aren’t going to make the same decisions as people who believe that the end is near.

Of course, things brings up another question: is pre-millennialism actually true? What does the Bible have to say about these different points of view? Is there good reason to believe one over the other?

I think there is, but that is a topic for another paper. All I wanted to do here is point out that yes, the end-times belief you hold can make a difference in the way you live your life now. It does matter. Pan-millennial is a terrible thing to believe if the world is about to come to a sudden end. After all, if the pre-millennial crowd is right and the return of Christ is at hand, isn’t that something you would like to know before it’s too late to do anything about it? Do you really want to wait and see how things pan out, only to think “Man, I wish I’d known I only had a short time left! I would have made very different choices.”

It’s worth thinking about.