premillennial

Premillennialism is an eschatological view within Christianity that holds Jesus Christ will return before a literal thousand-year reign on earth, often called the Millennium, which will follow his visible Second Coming. In this framework, the earth undergoes a period of Christ’s reign in which God’s promises to Israel and the church are fulfilled in a renewed creation.

There are two broad strands commonly identified within premillennialism. Historic or classical premillennialism interprets Revelation 20 as a future, physical reign of Christ on earth after his Second Coming, without the distinct church–Israel separation characteristic of some later forms. Dispensational premillennialism adds a systematic distinction between Israel and the church, emphasizes a future rapture of believers prior to a tribulation period, and presents a more elaborate sequence of end-time events, including a return, a millennium, and a final judgment.

Within premillennialism, the timing of the rapture (the catching up of believers) is debated. Some adherents advocate a pre-tribulation rapture, others a mid- or post-tribulation view. These timing differences are most commonly associated with dispensational premillennialism but also appear in other premillennial frameworks.

Historical development of premillennialism shows roots in early Christian thought, often labeled chiliasm in antiquity, but the term and its modern formulations gained influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly with the rise of dispensationalism. Today, premillennialism remains one of several competing eschatological models, alongside amillennialism and postmillennialism, and it continues to shape theological interpretation and expectations about the end times.

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