God And His Word - A Question And Answer Approach To Understanding The Bible

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it. The good news of this study is that, in spite of differences, we all believe in the glorious, literal return of Jesus Christ!

1. Historic Premillennialism

A Basic Definition. "The view first articulated in the early church: Christians endure the Tribulation (not necessarily seven years), after which Christ returns. Many who adhere to this view today believe a 'rapture' will accompany the Second Coming." 2

Historic Premillennialism

Before Christ

1,000 years

Church Age

Notations: FC=First Coming; FR=First Resurrection; FJ=Final Judgment; M=Millennium; T=Tribulation; SC=Second Coming; SR=Second Resurrection

Comments. The historic premillennialist believes in only one glorious Second Coming of Christ. This coming will inaugurate a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, during which time the powers of Satan will be completely bound, and all saints, Jew and Gentile, will reign with Christ. There will be two literal, bod ily resurrections, first, of the righteous, at the beginning of the Millennium when Christ returns, and second, of the unsaved, at the end of the thousand years. This school of thought finds no biblical support for the idea that the return of Christ will be divided into two phases-one before the Rapture and one after the Tribulation. Most historic premil

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