The Nicene Council Endorsed Chiliasm!

(from The Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, Vol. 2, 1850) “The Council of Nice which met in the year 325, promulgated among its “forms of ecclesiastical doctrine, according to which all teachers in the church were to frame their discourse,” a declaration which brings out the decided Chiliasm of that assembly.  It is to the following…

Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Ph.D–On Chiliasm In The Early Church

(from Notes on Eusebius’s Church History, 1890) Chiliasm, or millennarianism,–that is, the belief in a visible reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years before the general judgment,–was very widespread in the early church. Jewish chiliasm was very common at about the beginning of the Christian era, and is represented in the voluminous apocalyptic…

Essays On Chiliasm (Part 12)

   The Great Tribulation will be a time of intense persecution for the people of God.  Nevertheless, we have Christ’s promise that for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened.  But should anyone suppose that the events themselves will be unverifiable, we have Christ’s implicit statements that the Tribulation will be accompanied by signs…

Essays On Chiliasm (Part 11)

   Naturally, the rise of Antichrist will precipitate a state of things that results in hostility to the people of God.  We’ve already seen how wars and devastations must continue until the world is divided into ten nations. Lactantius, alluding to these times, writes: “First, the kingdom will be enlarged, and the chief power, dispersed…

Essays On Chiliasm (Part 10)

   By studying the eschatological writings of the early Fathers, and diligently comparing their several descriptions, it is not impossible to put together something like a composite view of end-time events.  In our last article, we discussed the Great Apostasy, briefly touching upon its general character.  Now we must discuss the rise of Antichrist.  Looking…

Essays On Chiliasm (Part 9)

  But now we must leave Zion’s serene heights and descend into the valleys, where the visibility is poor, and the air less healthful.  As we already discussed the nature of the Millennium, we must now talk about the events that shall lead up to Christ’s return in glory.  And this demands that we review…

Why Chiliasm?

   Chiliasm harmonizes the Old Testament prophecies with those passages in the Apocalypse which speak of a reign of Jesus Christ and His saints upon the earth. It is important that we keep this in mind, that we be not diverted from the vital issues at stake. Also, let us recognize the great importance of…