Pre or Postmillennialism, Does It Matter?
All the creeds of Christendom, including
the Roman Catholic, declare the personal, second coming of Christ to
earth; but those who profess to believe in Christ's second advent are
divided into two major schools of thought - the Pre-millennial and the
Post-millennial. "Pre" means "before" and "post" means "after": hence
the Pre-millennialists believe Christ will come before the golden age
called the Millennium; while the Post-millennialists believe Christ will
come after the establishment of the kingdom of righteousness on earth.
Post-millennialists hold that Christ will not return until He comes to the final judgment, at some far-off time. They believe the final triumph of His kingdom on earth is only a natter of time, and that through the preaching of the Gospel, the world will be eventually won to righteousness. Hence, the kingdom is to come in through human efforts.
Pre-millennialists do not look for universal peace and righteousness
until the Prince of Peace comes. They expect only a partial turning to
God through the preaching of the Gospel, knowing that in this age God is
"taking out" from among the Gentiles a people for His name (Acts
15:14-18). In fact, they know, from Scripture, that as the age advances,
evil will get worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13), and that the world is fast
ripening for judgment, a judgment so severe it will be unparalleled in
human history (Dan. 12:1). This judgment is called in the Bible "the
great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21), and will culminate in the terrible
battle of Armageddon, the last great world war before the coming of
Christ.Post-millennialists hold that Christ will not return until He comes to the final judgment, at some far-off time. They believe the final triumph of His kingdom on earth is only a natter of time, and that through the preaching of the Gospel, the world will be eventually won to righteousness. Hence, the kingdom is to come in through human efforts.
Suddenly, at the end of the great Tribulation, Christ will come back to earth in power and great glory, and establish His kingdom of righteousness on earth (Matt. 24:27-81). Prior even to His visible return will be His coming to take His people out of the world, that they might escape the horrors of the great tribulation. This coming for His saints is called the RAPTURE, and is the first phase of His return (1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52). The word "rapture" does not occur in Scripture, but since it means "snatch away" (Lat., rapto), it contains the idea clearly revealed in the Scripture, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, which tell us Christ will come to "snatch away" His people out of the world before it is turned over to the awful judgments written in the Book of Revelation, the seven seals, trumpets and vials of wrath.
It does matter, for the simple reason that God has spoken.
