View source for Religion:Millennialism

{{Short description|Belief that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur prior to the final judgment}}
{{Hatnote|For the Christian doctrine regarding Jesus Christ's reign in heaven, see [[Religion:Session of Christ|Session of Christ]] and [[Religion:Intercession of Christ|Intercession of Christ]]. For an overview of the earthly reign of the messiah in Abrahamic religions, see Messianic age.}}
{{Eschatology}}

'''Millennialism''' ({{etymology|la|[[Millennium|millennium]]|a thousand years||[[Philosophy:-ism|-ism]]|}}) or '''chiliasm''' (from the [[Social:Ancient Greek|Greek]] equivalent) is a belief which is advanced by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a [[Social:Golden Age|Golden Age]] will occur or a [[Unsolved:Paradise|Paradise]] will be established on [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] prior to the [[Religion:Last Judgment|Last Judgment]] and the future eternal state of the "[[Religion:World to come|world to come]]".

[[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]] and [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]] have both produced messianic movements which featured millennialist teachings—such as the notion that an earthly kingdom of God was at hand. These millenarian movements often led to considerable social unrest.<ref>Some examples are given by Gerschom Scholem in ''Sabbatai Sevi, the mystical messiah'' (London: Routledge, 1973). The whole book profiles a Jewish group of this kind centered on the person of Sabbatai Zevi, but in part 1 Scholem also gives a number of comparable Christian examples, e.g. pp. 100–101.</ref>

Similarities to millennialism also exist in [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]], which identified successive thousand-year periods, each of which will end in a cataclysm of [[Religion:Heresy|heresy]] and destruction, until the final destruction of [[Philosophy:Evil|evil]] and the final destruction of the spirit of evil by a triumphant king of peace at the end of the final millennial age. "Then Saoshyant makes the creatures again pure, and the resurrection and future existence occur" (''Zand-i Vohuman Yasht 3:62'').

Scholars have also linked various other social and political movements, both religious and [[Philosophy:Secularity|secular]], to millennialist metaphors.

== Christianity ==
Most Christian millennialist thinking is based upon the [[Religion:Book of Revelation|Book of Revelation]], specifically Revelation 20,<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|20|KJV}}</ref> which describes the vision of an angel who descended from heaven with a large chain and a key to a bottomless pit, and captured Satan, imprisoning him for a thousand years:
{{Blockquote|He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be let out for a little while.|Revelation 20:2–3<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|20:2-3|KJV}}</ref>}}

The Book of Revelation then describes a series of judges who are seated on thrones, as well as John's vision of the souls of those who were beheaded for their testimony in favor of Jesus and their rejection of the mark of the beast. These souls:

{{Blockquote|came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years|Revelation 20:4–6<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|20:4-6|KJV}}</ref>}}

=== Early church ===

==== Premillennialism ====
During the first centuries after Christ, various forms of chiliasm (millennialism) were to be found in the Church, both East and West.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-01-03 |title=Theology Today – Vol 53, No. 4 – January 1997 – ARTICLE – Paul Tillich and the Millenialist Heritage |url=http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jan1997/v53-4-article3.htm |access-date=2023-06-16 |pages=464–476|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050103083254/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jan1997/v53-4-article3.htm |archive-date=2005-01-03 }}</ref> Premillennialism held by the Early Church is called "historic premillennialism",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blomberg |first1=Craig L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huMlsCYyI5YC&dq=Early+Church+historic+premill&pg=PT73 |title=A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology |last2=Chung |first2=Sung Wook |date=2009-02-01 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4412-1056-2 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and it was supported in the early church by [[Religion:Papias of Hierapolis|Papias]],<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Davies and Allison |title=A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Volume 1, ICC |page=13}}</ref> Irenaeus, [[Biography:Justin Martyr|Justin Martyr]],<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Historic Premillennialism |url=https://www.monergism.com/topics/eschatology/all-millennial-views/historic-premillennialism |access-date=26 February 2018 |website=Monergism}}</ref> Tertullian,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chung |first1=Sung Wook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlcXEAAAQBAJ&dq=Tertullian+premillennialism&pg=PA12 |title=Models of Premillennialism |last2=Mathewson |first2=David L. |date=2018-08-27 |publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-5326-3769-8 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Polycarp,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chung |first1=Sung Wook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OcpwDwAAQBAJ&dq=Papias+historic+premill&pg=PT16 |title=Models of Premillennialism |last2=Mathewson |first2=David L. |date=2018-08-27 |publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-5326-3771-1 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Pseudo-Barnabas,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philip Schaff: ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus – Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.vi.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=www.ccel.org |at=Volume 2, p. 382 |quote=Among the Apostolic Fathers Barnabas is the first and the only one who expressly teaches a pre-millennial reign of Christ on earth. He considers the Mosaic history of the creation a type of six ages of labor for the world, each lasting a thousand years, and of a millennium of rest, since with God 'one day is as a thousand years.' Millennial Sabbath on earth will be followed by an eight and eternal day in a new world, of which the Lord's Day (called by Barnabas 'the eighth day') is the type}}</ref> Methodius, Lactantius,<ref>''Insruct. adv. Gentium Deos'', pp. 43, 44.</ref> Commodianus,<ref>According to the ''Encyclopedia of the Early Church'' "Commodian (mid 3rd century) takes up the theme of the 7000 years, the last of which is the millennium (''Instr''. II 35, 8 ff.)." M. Simonetti, "Millenarism," p. 560.</ref> Theophilus,<ref>Against Marcion, book 3, chapter 25</ref> Melito,<ref>Simonetti writes in the ''Encyclopedia of the Early Church'' "We know that Melito was also a millenarian" regarding [[Biography:Jerome|Jerome]]'s reference to him as a chiliast. M. Simonetti, "Millenarism," p. 560.</ref> [[Religion:Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus of Rome]], Victorinus of Pettau,<ref>Note this is Victorinus of Pettau not Marcus Piav(v)onius Victorinus the Gaelic Emperor</ref><ref>In his ''Commentary on Revelation'' and from the fragment ''De Fabrica Mundi'' (Part of a commentary on Genesis). Jerome identifies him as a premillennialist.</ref> [[Religion:Book of Nepos|Nepos]], Julius Africanus, [[Biography:Tatian|Tatian]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Foster |first1=K. Neill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xaVvBAAAQBAJ&dq=Book+of+Nepos+premillenialism&pg=PT14 |title=Essays on Premillennialism: A Modern Reaffirmation of an Ancient Doctrine |last2=Fessenden |first2=David E. |date=2007-02-01 |publisher=Moody Publishers |isbn=978-1-60066-959-0 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and Montanus.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Foster |first1=K. Neill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xaVvBAAAQBAJ&dq=Montanist+premillenialism&pg=PT14 |title=Essays on Premillennialism: A Modern Reaffirmation of an Ancient Doctrine |last2=Fessenden |first2=David E. |date=2007-02-01 |publisher=Moody Publishers |isbn=978-1-60066-959-0 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> However, the premillennial views of Montanus probably affected the later rejection of premillennialism in the Church, as [[Unsolved:Montanism|Montanism]] was seen as a heresy.<ref name=":2" /> {{Christian Eschatology}}

==== Amillennialism ====
In the 2nd century, the [[Religion:Alogi|Alogi]] (those who rejected all of John's writings) were amillennial, as was Caius in the first quarter of the 3rd century.<ref>Eusebius, 3.28.1–2</ref> With the influence of [[Philosophy:Platonism|Platonism]], [[Biography:Clement of Alexandria|Clement of Alexandria]] and [[Biography:Origen|Origen]] denied premillennialism.<ref>De Principiis, 2.11.2–3</ref> Likewise, Dionysius of Alexandria (died 264) argued that Revelation was not written by John and could not be interpreted literally; he was amillennial.<ref>Eusebius, ''Church History'', 7.24.3; 7.25</ref>

[[Biography:Justin Martyr|Justin Martyr]] (died 165), who had chiliastic tendencies in his theology, mentions differing views in his ''Dialogue with Trypho the Jew'', chapter 80:<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Schaff |first=Philip |title=Philip Schaff: ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus – Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.lxxx.html |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=www.ccel.org}}</ref><blockquote>"I and many others are of this opinion [premillennialism], and [believe] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>Augustine in his early days affirmed [[Religion:Premillennialism|premillennialism]], but later changed to amillennialism, causing the view to become popularized together with Pope Gregory the Great.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Roger E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jI_MdHZViPwC&dq=Amillennialism+early+Christian&pg=PA146 |title=The SCM Press A-Z of Evangelical Theology |date=2005 |publisher=Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd |isbn=978-0-334-04011-8 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>G. Folliet, "[http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/638 La typologie du ''sabbat'' chez Saint Augustin. Son interpretation millénariste entre 386 et 400] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172051/http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/638|date=2011-07-18}}," RE''Aug'' 2 (1956):371-90. Referenced in David R. Anderson, "The [[Religion:Soteriology|Soteriological]] Impact of Augustine's Change From Premillennialism to Amillennialism: Part One," ''The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society,'' Vol. 15 (Spring 2002), 27. Johannes Quasten also writes "Augustine made a "short shrift of millenarianism after having accepted it at first himself (''De civ. Dei'' 20, 7; ''Serm'' 259.2) by explaining Apoc. 20:1-5 in an allegorical sense (it regards the spiritual resurrection of the body – real bodies even though no longer corruptible)" (''De civ. Dei'' 22, 1-28)." Johannes Quasten, ''Patrology,'' Vol. 4 (Westminster, Maryland: Christian Classics, Inc.), 452.</ref>

The ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' notes that the 2nd century proponents of various [[Philosophy:Gnosticism|Gnostic]] beliefs (themselves considered heresies) also rejected millenarianism.<ref>Kirsch, J.P. Transcribed by Donald J. Boon. Millennium and Millenarianism</ref>

=== Reformation and beyond ===
[[File:Millennial views.svg|right|thumb|360px|Comparison of Christian millennial interpretations]]
Christian views on the future order of events diversified after the Protestant reformation ({{circa|1517}}). In particular, new emphasis was placed on the passages in the [[Religion:Book of Revelation|Book of Revelation]] which seemed to say that as Christ would return to judge the living and the dead, [[Biography:Satan|Satan]] would be locked away for 1000 years, but then released on the world to instigate [[Unsolved:Armageddon|a final battle against God and his Saints]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|20:1–6|KJV}}</ref> Previous Catholic and [[Religion:Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] theologians had no clear or consensus view on what this actually meant (only the concept of the end of the world coming unexpectedly, "like a thief in a night", and the concept of "the [[Unsolved:Antichrist|antichrist]]" were almost universally held). Millennialist theories try to explain what this "1000 years of Satan bound in chains" would be like.

Various types of millennialism exist with regard to [[Religion:Christian eschatology|Christian eschatology]], especially within [[Religion:Protestantism|Protestantism]], such as [[Religion:Premillennialism|Premillennialism]], [[Religion:Postmillennialism|Postmillennialism]], and [[Religion:Amillennialism|Amillennialism]]. The first two refer to different views of the relationship between the "millennial Kingdom" and Christ's second coming.

Premillennialism sees Christ's second advent as preceding the millennium, thereby separating the second coming from the final judgment. In this view, "Christ's reign" will be physically on the earth.

Postmillennialism sees Christ's second coming as subsequent to the millennium and concurrent with the final judgment. In this view "Christ's reign" (during the millennium) will be spiritual in and through the church.

Amillennialism sees the 1000 year kingdom as being metaphorically described in Rev. 20:1–6 in which "Christ's reign" is current in and through the church. Thus, while this view does not hold to a future millennial reign, it does hold that the New Heavens and New Earth will appear upon the return of Christ.

The [[Organization:Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] strongly condemns millennialism as the following shows:

{{Blockquote|The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.|Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger|Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1995<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, New York, 1995, p. 194.</ref>|source=p. 194}}

===19th and 20th centuries===

====Bible Student movement====
The Bible Student movement is a millennialist movement based on views expressed in "The Divine Plan of the Ages," in 1886, in Volume One of the ''[[Unsolved:Studies in the Scriptures|Studies in the Scriptures]]'' series, by Pastor [[Biography:Charles Taze Russell|Charles Taze Russell]]. (This series is still being published, since 1927, by the Dawn Bible Students Association.) Bible Students believe that there will be a universal opportunity for every person, past and present, not previously recipients of a heavenly calling, to gain everlasting life on Earth during the Millennium.<ref>''Studies in the Scriptures'', Volume One, ''The Divine Plan of the Ages,'' Study IX, "Ransom and Restitution," pp. 149–152</ref>

==== Jehovah's Witnesses ====
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ will rule from heaven for 1,000 years as king over the earth, assisted by the 144,000 ascended humans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who Goes to Heaven?|url=https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/go-to-heaven/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529173319/https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/go-to-heaven/ |archive-date=29 May 2021 |access-date=19 July 2021 |website=Jehovah's Witnesses}}</ref>

==== The Church of Almighty God ====
Also known as Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God mentions in its teachings the Age of Millennial Kingdom, which will follow the catastrophes prophesied in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SA15CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China |isbn=9789004297258 |last1=Dunn |first1=Emily |date=27 May 2015 |publisher=BRILL |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

== Judaism ==
Millennialist thinking first emerged in [[Religion:Jewish apocrypha|Jewish apocryphal literature]] of the tumultuous [[History:Second Temple period|Second Temple period]],<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book |last1=Tabor |first1=James D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgUTDAAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=9780190611941 |editor1-last=Wessinger |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Wessinger |edition=reprint |series=Oxford Handbooks |location=New York |publication-date=2016 |page=254 |chapter=13: Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Millennialism |quote=Millennialism, as it developed in emerging forms of Judaism around 200 B.C.E., was a response to a much older conceptual problem and a specific historical crisis brought on by a program of Hellenization initiated by the Macedonian ruler, Antiochus IV (r. 175–164 B.C.E.), a successor of Alexander the Great (256–323 B.C.E.), who had conquered Syria-Palestine in 332 B.C.E. |access-date=2019-02-05 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
</ref>

[[Biography:Gershom Scholem|Gerschom Scholem]] profiles medieval and early modern Jewish millennialist teachings in his book ''Sabbatai Sevi, the mystical messiah'', which focuses on the 17th-century movement centered on the self-proclaimed messiahship (1648) of Sabbatai Zevi<ref>
Gerschom Scholem, ''Sabbatai Sevi, the mystical messiah'' (London: Routledge, 1973). Scholem also gives examples of other Jewish millennialist movements.
</ref> (1626{{endash}}1676).

== Baha'i Faith ==
Bahá'u'lláh mentioned in the ''Kitáb-i-Íqán'' that God will renew the "City of God" about every thousand years,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bahá'í Reference Library – The Kitáb-i-Íqán, Pages 161–200 |url=https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KI/ki-6.html.utf8 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=reference.bahai.org |page=199 specifically}}</ref> and specifically mentioned that a new Manifestation of God would not appear within 1,000 years (1852–2852 CE) of Bahá'u'lláh's [[Religion:Dispensation (period)|Dispensation]], but that the authority of Bahá'u'lláh's message could last up to 500,000 years.<ref>{{cite book |first=Michael D. |last=McMullen |year=2000 |title=The Baha'i: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=Atlanta, Georgia |isbn=0-8135-2836-4 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lF0UquZAZW8C |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bahá'í Reference Library – The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Pages 19–34 |url=https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KA/ka-4.html.utf8 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=reference.bahai.org |at=gr. 37}}</ref>

== Theosophy ==

The [[Philosophy:Theosophy|Theosophist]] [[Biography:Alice Bailey|Alice Bailey]] taught that ''The Christ'' or ''The World Teacher'' would return "sometime after AD 2025", and that this would be the [[Philosophy:New Age|New Age]] equivalent of the Christian concept of the Second Coming of Christ. Note that the being she speaks of ''The World Teacher'' is the same as that spiritual being best known to other Theosophists as ''[[Philosophy:Maitreya (Theosophy)|Maitreya]]''.<ref>Bailey, Alice A. ''The Externalisation of the Hierarchy'' New York: 1957 Lucis Publishing Co., p. 530</ref><ref>Bailey, Alice A. ''The Reappearance of the Christ,'' New York: 1948 Lucis Publishing Co.</ref>

== Social movements ==
Millennial social movements, a specific form of [[Unsolved:Millenarianism|millenarianism]], have as their basis some concept of a cycle of one-thousand years. Sometimes{{quantify|date=August 2020}} the two terms{{which|date=August 2020}} are used{{by whom|date=August 2020}} as synonyms, but purists regard this as not entirely accurate.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Millennial social movements need not have a religious foundation, but they must{{request quotation|date=August 2020}} have a vision of an [[Unsolved:Apocalypse|apocalypse]] that can be [[Philosophy:Utopia|utopia]]n or [[Philosophy:Dystopia|dystopia]]n. Those associated with millennial social movements are "prone to be violent",{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} with certain types of millennialism connected to violence.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Bromley
 | first1 = David G.
 | year = 2003
 | chapter = Violence and New Religious Movements
 | editor1-last = Lewis
 | editor1-first = James R.
 | title = The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sRESDAAAQBAJ
 | series = Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology
 | volume = 1
 | edition = reprint
 | location = New York
 | publisher = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]
 | publication-date = 2008
 | page = 148
 | isbn = 9780195369649
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = Groups with millennial/apocalyptic expectations have been proposed to be prone to violence due to their fiery rhetoric condemning the existing social order and separation from that order. [...] However, there does not appear to be any simple connection between millennialism and violence. [...] While millennialism as a general form may not be linked to violence, there have been several suggestions that specific types of millennialism may be so connected.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref><ref>
Compare:
{{cite book |last1=Walliss |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgUTDAAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=9780190611941 |editor1-last=Wessinger |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-link=Catherine Wessinger |edition=reprint |series=Oxford Handbooks Series |location=Oxford |publication-date=2016 |page=224 |chapter=Fragile Millennial Communities and Violence |quote=Like all religious groups, Wessinger argues, millennial groups possess an 'ultimate concern' [...] When this concern – or 'millennial goal' – is threatened in some way, a group that possesses a radically dualistic perspective may in some cases seek to preserve or fulfill their goal through acts of violence. [...] By contrast, revolutionary millennial movements are likely to engage in pre-emptive, offensive actions, believing 'that revolutionary violence is necessary to become liberated from their persecutors and to set up the righteous government and society' [...]. [...] Finally, [...] Wessinger adds the category of fragile millennial groups, where violence stems from a combination of internal pressures and the perception or experience of external opposition. |access-date=30 August 2020 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
</ref>

In progressive millennialism, the "transformation of the social order is gradual and humans play a role in fostering that transformation".<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Bromley
 | first1 = David G.
 | year = 2003
 | chapter = Violence and New Religious Movements
 | editor1-last = Lewis
 | editor1-first = James R.
 | title = The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sRESDAAAQBAJ
 | series = Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology
 | volume = 1
 | edition = reprint
 | location = New York
 | publisher = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]
 | publication-date = 2008
 | page = 148
 | isbn = 9780195369649
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = With progressive millennialism, transformation of the social order is gradual and humans play a role in fostering that transformation.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref>

Catastrophic millennialism "deems the current social order as irrevocably corrupt, and total destruction of this order is necessary as the precursor to the building of a new, godly order".<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Bromley
 | first1 = David G.
 | year = 2003
 | chapter = Violence and New Religious Movements
 | editor1-last = Lewis
 | editor1-first = James R.
 | title = The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sRESDAAAQBAJ
 | series = Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology
 | volume = 1
 | edition = reprint
 | location = New York
 | publisher = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]
 | publication-date = 2008
 | page = 148
 | isbn = 9780195369649
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = Catastrophic millennialism deems the current social order as irrevocably corrupt, and total destruction of this order is necessary as the precursor to the building of a new, godly order.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref>

However the link between millennialism and violence may be problematic, as new religious movements may stray from the catastrophic view as time progresses.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |title=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-19-514986-6}}</ref>{{request quotation|date=August 2020}}

=== Nazism ===
The most controversial interpretation of the [[History:Three-age system|three-age system]] and of millennialism in general involves Adolf Hitler's "[[Place:Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]" ("{{lang|de|Drittes Reich}}"), which in his vision would last for a thousand years to come ("''Tausendjähriges Reich''") but ultimately lasted for only 12 years (1933–1945).

The German thinker [[Biography:Arthur Moeller van den Bruck|Arthur Moeller van den Bruck]] coined the phrase "Third Reich" and in 1923 published a book titled ''Das Dritte Reich''. Looking back at German history, he distinguished two separate periods, and identified them with [[Philosophy:Three Eras|the ages]] of the 12th-century Italian theologian Joachim of Fiore:

* the [[Religion:Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Empire]] (beginning with Charlemagne in AD 800): the "First Reich", ''The Age of the [[Religion:God the Father|Father]]'' and
* the [[Place:German Empire|German Empire]], under the House of Hohenzollern (1871–1918): the "Second Reich", ''The Age of the [[Religion:God the Son|Son]]''.

After the interval of the Weimar Republic (1918 onwards), during which constitutionalism, [[Social:Parliamentary system|parliamentarianism]] and even [[Social:Pacifism|pacifism]] dominated, these were then to be followed by:
* the "Third Reich", ''The Age of the [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]]''.

Although van den Bruck was unimpressed by Hitler when he met him in 1922 and did not join the [[Social:Nazi Party|Nazi Party]], nevertheless the Nazis adopted the term "Third Reich" to label the totalitarian state they wanted to set up when they gained power, which they succeeded in doing in 1933. Later, however, the Nazi authorities banned the informal use of "Third Reich" throughout the German press in the summer of 1939, instructing it to use more official terms such as "German Reich", "Greater German Reich", and "National Socialist Germany" exclusively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schmitz-Berning |first=Cornelia |date=2000 |title=Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus |language=de |trans-title=Vocabulary of National Socialism |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG |location=Berlin |pages=159–160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jmWOMks6bkC&q=drittes+reich&pg=PA607 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

During the early part of the Third Reich many Germans also referred to Hitler as being the ''German Messiah'', especially when he conducted the Nuremberg rallies,{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} which came to be held annually (1933–1938) at a date somewhat before the [[Astronomy:September equinox|September equinox]] in Nuremberg.

In a speech held on 27 November 1937, Hitler commented on [[Place:Germania (city)|his plans to have major parts of Berlin torn down and rebuilt]]:

{{blockquote|[...] einem tausendjährigen Volk mit tausendjähriger geschichtlicher und kultureller Vergangenheit für die vor ihm liegende unabsehbare Zukunft eine ebenbürtige tausendjährige Stadt zu bauen [...].}}

{{blockquote|[...] to build a millennial city adequate [in splendour] to a thousand-year-old people with a thousand-year-old historical and cultural past, for its never-ending [glorious] future [...]}}

After Adolf Hitler's unsuccessful attempt to implement a thousand-year-reign, [[Organization:Holy See|the Vatican]] issued an official statement that millennial claims could not be safely taught and that the related scriptures in Revelation (also called the Apocalypse) should be understood spiritually. Catholic author Bernard LeFrois wrote:

{{blockquote|text={{sic|Millenium}}<!-- PLEASE NOTE that "Millenium" is deliberately spelled incorrectly here, reflecting the mistake on the external page. -->: [...] Since the Holy Office decreed (July 21, 1944) that it cannot be safely taught that Christ at His Second Coming will reign visibly with only some of His saints (risen from the dead) for a period of time before the final and universal judgment, a spiritual millenium is to be seen in Apoc. 20:4–6. St. John gives a recapitulation of the activity of Satan, and the spiritual reign of the saints with Christ in heaven and in His Church on earth.|source=<ref>
LeFrois, Bernard J. Eschatological Interpretation of the Apocalypse. ''The Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', Vol. XIII, pp. 17–20; Cited in: Culleton R. G. ''The Reign of Antichrist'', 1951. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1974, p. 9 and in:
{{cite book
 | last1 = Culleton
 | first1 = R. Gerald
 | year = 1951
 | title = The Reign of Antichrist
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8DYqCgAAQBAJ
 | publisher = TAN Books
 | publication-date = 2009
 | isbn = 9781505102918
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = [...] Since the Holy Office decreed (July 21, 1944) that it cannot be safely taught that Christ at His Second Coming will reign visibly with only some of His saints (risen from the dead) for a period of time before the final and universal judgment, a spiritual millenium is to be seen in Apoc. 20:4–6. St. John gives a recapitulation of the activity of Satan, and the spiritual reign of the saints with Christ in heaven and in His Church on earth.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref>}}

=== Utopianism ===
The early Christian concepts of millennialism had ramifications far beyond strictly religious concerns during the centuries to come, as various theorists blended and enhanced them with ideas of [[Philosophy:Utopia|utopia]].

In the wake of early millennial thinking, the [[Philosophy:Three Eras|Three Ages]] philosophy developed. The Italian monk and [[Religion:Theology|theologian]] Joachim of Fiore (died 1202) saw all of human history as a succession of three ages:
# the Age of the [[Religion:God the Father|Father]] (the [[Religion:Old Testament|Old Testament]])
# the Age of the [[Religion:God the Son|Son]] (the [[Religion:New Testament|New Testament]])
# the Age of the [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]] (the age begun when Christ ascended into heaven, leaving the [[Religion:Paraclete|Paraclete]], the third person of the Holy Trinity, to guide the faithful)

It was believed{{by whom|date=August 2020}} that the Age of the Holy Spirit would begin at {{circa|1260}}, and that from then on all believers would live as monks, mystically transfigured and full of praise for God, for a thousand years until Judgment Day would put an end to the history of our planet.

Joachim of Fiore's divisions of historical time also highly influenced the [[Philosophy:New Age|New Age]] movement, which transformed the Three Ages philosophy into astrological terminology, relating the [[Astronomy:March equinox|Northern-hemisphere vernal equinox]] to different constellations of the zodiac. In this scenario the Age of the Father was recast{{by whom|date=August 2020}} as the Age of Aries, the Age of the Son became the Age of Pisces, and the Age of the Holy Spirit was called the Aquarian New Age. The current so-called "[[Unsolved:Age of Aquarius|Age of Aquarius]]" will supposedly witness the development of a number of great changes for humankind,<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Bogdan
 | first1 = Henrik
 | chapter = Envisioning the Birth of a New Aeon: Dispensationalism and Millenarianism in the Thelemic Tradition
 | editor1-last = Bogdan
 | editor1-first = Henrik
 | editor2-last = Starr
 | editor2-first = Martin P.
 | title = Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism
 | date = 5 September 2012
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KpvqhORGQe4C
 | location = Oxford
 | publisher = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]
 | publication-date = 2012
 | isbn = 9780199996063
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = The New Age was commonly also defined in astrological terms, with the Age of Pisces said to be supplanted by the Age of Aquarius. The consequent evolutionary leap in the development of humankind was often portrayed as heralding a fundamental change in the understanding of the relationship between human beings and the universe. Such thought culminated in the blossoming of the New Age movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, with its characterization of the Age of Aquarius as the embodiment of holistic principles [...]. [...] the New Age would be marked by peace and harmony.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref> reflecting the typical features of some manifestations of millennialism.<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book
 | last1 = Landes
 | first1 = Richard
 | chapter = Millenarianism and the Dynamics of Apocalyptic Time
 | editor1-last = Newport
 | editor1-first = Kenneth G. C.
 | editor2-last = Gribben
 | editor2-first = Crawford
 | title = Expecting the End: Millennialism in Social and Historical Context
 | year = 2006
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h3lsZkm6qxcC
 | location = Waco, Texas
 | publisher = Baylor University Press
 | publication-date = 2006
 | page = 11
 | isbn = 9781932792386
 | access-date = 30 August 2020
 | quote = Transformational millennialism tends to foster programs of radical and often unrealistic social change [...]. [...] Currently, the most prominent form of transformational millennialism comes from the New Age movements set in motion by the millennial wave of the 1960s: environmentally harmonized communes.
 | via = [[Google Books]]
}}
</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Religion:Christian eschatology|Christian eschatology]]
* Christian Zionism
* [[Religion:Council of Ephesus|Council of Ephesus]]
* [[Religion:Cult of the Holy Spirit|Cult of the Holy Spirit]]
* [[Social:Immanentize the eschaton|Immanentize the eschaton]]
* [[Unsolved:Millenarianism|Millenarianism]]
* [[Religion:Millennial Day Theory|Millennial Day Theory]]
* [[Religion:Preterism|Preterism]]
* ''The Pursuit of the Millennium''
* Year 1000
* Year 6000

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Barkun, Michael. ''Disaster and the Millennium'' (Yale University Press, 1974) ({{ISBN|0-300-01725-1}})
* Case, Shirley J. [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924029319930#page/n5/mode/2up ''The Millennial Hope,''] The [[Organization:University of Chicago Press|University of Chicago Press]], 1918.
* Cohn, Norman. ''The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages'', (2nd ed. Yale University Press, 1970).
* Desroches, Henri, {{lang|fr|Dieux d'hommes. Dictionnaire des messianismes et millénarismes de l'ère chrétienne}}, The Hague: Mouton, 1969,
* Ellwood, Robert. "Nazism as a Millennialist Movement", in Catherine Wessinger (ed.), ''Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases'' (Syracuse University Press, 2000). ({{ISBN|0-8156-2809-9}} or {{ISBN|0-8156-0599-4}})
* Fenn, Richard K. ''The End of Time: Religion, Ritual, and the Forging of the Soul'' (Pilgrim Press, 1997). ({{ISBN|0-8298-1206-7}} or {{ISBN|0-281-04994-7}})
* Hall, John R. ''Apocalypse: From Antiquity to the Empire of Modernity'', (Cambridge, UK: Polity 2009). ({{ISBN|978-0-7456-4509-4}} [pb] and {{ISBN|978-0-7456-4508-7}})
* Kaplan, Jeffrey. ''Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah'' (Syracuse University Press, 1997). ({{ISBN|0-8156-2687-8}} or {{ISBN|0-8156-0396-7}})
* Landes, Richard. ''Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience'', (Oxford University Press 2011)
* Pasquier, Cyril. ''Approches du millénium: Et si Irénée de Lyon avait raison?'', (Münster, Aschendorff Verlag, Studia Oecumenica Friburgensia 103, 2021, 807 p.). ({{ISBN|978-3-402-12237-2}})
* Pentecost, J. Dwight. ''Things to Come: A study in Biblical Eschatology'' (Zondervan, 1958) {{ISBN|0-310-30890-9}} and {{ISBN|978-0-310-30890-4}}.
* Redles, David. ''Hitler's Millennial Reich: Apocalyptic Belief and the Search for Salvation'' (New York University Press, 2005). ({{ISBN|978-0-8147-7621-6}} or {{ISBN|978-0-8147-7524-0}})
* Stone, Jon R., ed. ''Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy'' ([[Company:Routledge|Routledge]], 2000). ({{ISBN|0-415-92331-X}})
* Underwood, Grant. (1999) [1993]. ''[https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/48cbq6kr9780252068263.html The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism].'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|978-0252068263}}
* Wessinger, Catherine. ed. ''The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism'' ([[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]], 2011) 768 pp.&nbsp;{{ISBN|978-0-19-530105-2}} [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=34266 online review]
* Wistrich, Robert. ''Hitler's Apocalypse: Jews and the Nazi Legacy'' (St. Martin's Press, 1985). ({{ISBN|0-312-38819-5}})
* {{cite book |title=The End of the World as We Know It: Faith, Fatalism, and Apocalypse in America |last=Wojcik |first=Daniel |date=1997 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=0-8147-9283-9}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10307a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "Millennium and Millenarianism"]
* [https://sterx.ru/en_b_hih-anthology.htm Anthology of Chiliasm and Chillegorism] (Compiler V.Sterkh)
* [https://srtfinance.com/millennials-are-in-worse-financial-health-than-previous-generations/ Millennials Are in Worse Financial Health Than Previous Generations]

{{Doomsday}}

[[Category:Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Christian eschatology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Millennialism}}