The Fathers

[starrs0]

Can anyone point me to any resorces on the net about why The Early Church Fathers didn’t belive in the Thousand Year Reign of Christ (Millenium) and their arguments against it. I can’t seem to understand why the Church has rejected this and why they think its so wrong.

 

[rarndt01]

Oh but they did. It was after the first century fathers, that the future millenium became spirtualized and chiefly by St Augustine. Notice this quote from Justin Martyr who claimed that RIGHT MINDED Christians hold to a future millenium. Here is his quote;

Justin Martyr

"But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.

Chapter LXXXI.—He Endeavours to Prove This Opinion from Isaiah and the Apocalypse.

"For Isaiah spake thus concerning this space of a thousand years: ‘For there shall be the new heaven and the new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, or come into their heart; but they shall find joy and gladness in it, which things I create. For, Behold, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and My people a joy; and I shall rejoice over Jerusalem, and be glad over My people. And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, or the voice of crying. And there shall be no more there a person of immature years, or an old man who shall not fulfil his days. For the young man shall be an hundred years old; but the sinner who dies an hundred years old, he shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and shall themselves inhabit them; and they shall plant vines, and shall themselves eat the produce of them, and drink the wine. They shall not build, and others inhabit; they shall not plant, and others eat. For according to the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people; the works of their toil shall abound. Mine elect shall not toil fruitlessly, or beget children to be cursed; for they shall be a seed righteous and blessed by the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call I will hear; while they are still speaking, I shall say, What is it? Then shall the wolves and the lambs feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent [shall eat] earth as bread. They shall not hurt or maltreat each other on the holy mountain, saith the Lord.’ Now we have understood that the expression used among these words, ‘According to the days of the tree [of life ] shall be the days of my people; the works of their toil shall abound’ obscurely predicts a thousand years. For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die, we know that he did not complete a thousand years. We have perceived, moreover, that the expression, ‘The day of the Lord is as a thousand years, ’ is connected with this subject. And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place. Just as our Lord also said, ‘They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be equal to the angels, the children of the God of the resurrection.

 

[JimG]

New Advent has a brief article about the history of millenarianism. Perhaps someone else has other resources.

I’ve never given it much thought myself. If we’re going to rise again and go to heaven, what’s the point of another thousand years on earth?

 

[Maccabees]

There is excellent resources on this in the Book “Will Catholics Be Left Behind” by Carl Olson.

The millineraism described by Justin was far different than what modern fundamentalist describe today.
It had nothing do with the secular state of Israel, rapture, etc but the millinium was not the same as the church age as it is currently tuaght. Honestly there is just not a lot written about this the first two centuries of the church. Ireanaus gave conflicitng statements some millinial some amillinial.
However Augustine was not the first to teach millineraism Origen was the first father to really speak about eschatology in great detail and he was amillinial this was the dominant view from the east from the third century on it was slower to be accepted in the West. When Augustine accepted this theory it later became the dominate view in the West.
The Millinium was such a no no in the east that the book of Revelation was not thought of as scripture until a very late period in the East becuase it could be interpreted that way. HEck many Orthodox churches still don’t read the book in their litury to this day. And the commentaries on this book by the eastern fathers are rather weak in volume. It wasn’t thought of as too highly becuase of the millinium question. After Augustine ansered teh Millinium question Revelation was quicly accepted in the West as scripture as its main contradiction with the current rule of faith had been answered.
Eschatology and the millinium is a very difficult subject to understand I suggest you read the Olsen book to fully understand the possibilites and many interpretations of the end of time.
Justin Martyr and the very earliest Christians did a lot of dilaoge with Jews and whether the Jewsih view of the millnium influenced them or not remains an open question. All the Christians in the first and second centureis beleived they were the generation to be the last after generation of geneartion passed the millnium became more problematic to explain Origien presented a possible answer to the delimina that Christ might not come back for quite some time and that the church was missing out its true calling of brining the Christ Age to the world.
Like quite a few thing these things remained an open question of interpretation for quite some time. If you consider nobody knew if Revelation was scripture or not then you realize how many things were still being worked out in the early centuries of the church.
WE take those things for granted today.