I have stumbled into the marshy waters of end-times prophecy and Eschatology. It happened by chance, and then I fell into a rabbit hole from which I have just now started to emerge.
It all started when I came across a woman on YouTube who called herself a prophetess and had a series of dreams about the end times and how God would judge the world. I was gripped! Much of what she said sounded fantastical but was also in line with what I had imagined and even dreamt would happen (I once had an end-times zombie dream), as she now spoke of zombies taking over. I grew concerned and increasingly rattled. It culminated in one night when I cried out to God for the salvation of pretty much everyone I knew. Which, in hindsight, is probably a good thing.
However, after that night, I began to question everything I had been taught and learned about the end of the world. I prayed for God to keep me, us, until the very end. Whether that be 2026 or beyond. Then I started to search to see if anyone had made videos against this woman’s teaching, and there were many. Some from sources I knew. I felt a bit more reassured but also wasn’t sure if they were also in error. Then, through God’s mercy, I thought, who is a sound teacher I can trust? I remembered Mike Winger and looked up what he had to say.
I then found his video on 6 End Times Views.
This video made me realize that with all things faith, you need to start with your theology. What do you believe? I was relieved because I finally realized that I had not sufficiently studied the end times views to make my own belief system. Sure, I had been brought up believing in the rapture and that it will all end badly. But what about the other views? Had I ruled them out? I learned that my view was something called pre-millennial. And that opposing it were other views, amillennial and post-millennial, concerning the 1000-year millennial rule of Christ as written in Revelations 20. We are to believe that all the views are not in error and still brothers and sisters in Christ. These are minor things, not major things of the Bible, and are not salvific issues.
First, a look at Revelations 20:
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They 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. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelations 20:1-6
Here is my attempt to break down these views using GotQuestions.com
Premillennial End Times
Premillennials believe that Christ will come for his church before the millennial reign and that the 1000 years are literal and will occur here on earth. This has been my view and seems to be the view of many teachers that I listen to.
Reasons for: It takes the passage to mean what it means and therefore makes the outcome clearer and less symbolic.
Reasons against: It sort of has two-second comings of Christ, one to come and rule with the church, then another to come and fight in the end times.
Amillennial
Amillennials hold the oldest view, dating back to the first century. Their key feature is that the 1000 years is symbolic, not literal because 1000 was used in other parts of the Bible symbolically but didn’t exactly mean 1000 years.
“Amillennialism sees the first coming of Christ as the inauguration of the kingdom, and His return as the consummation of the kingdom.”
Reasons for: The transition in and out of the 1000 years, as written, seems to hold more closely to this view when held as symbolic.
Reasons against: The 1000 years should be “with” Christ, yet if we are currently in the millennial rule of Christ, we are not really “with” Christ.
Post-Millennial
This view believes that the world is becoming better and better, being redeemed as time goes on, and that the Gospel will spread until the whole world comes to hear of Jesus. Then Christ will return for his second coming, and the end will happen, hence the “post”-millennial reign.
Reasons for: 1000 years being symbolic, and also the world is actually getting better in many respects, poverty rates have declined, and there is more equality, and more freedom compared to, say, 500 years ago.
Reasons against: The world is not getting better, some would argue, and also, the battle of Armageddon, or the Great Tribulation, is not really taken into account.
Now, to throw a wrench in all of this, there is something called the Tribulation, and scholars argue whether this is pre or post-millennial. That is when the “terrible times” written in 2 Timothy 3:1 occur. Will the Church be here or not? Will we be raptured up with Christ or not? I am still processing this, having always believed in the rapture, but now entertaining other scholarly viewpoints. More to come.
These are heady topics! It's also not fun to dwell on for too long. As I prayed about this today and for God to lead me into truth, God, in his loving and watchful way, led me directly to this scripture:
Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 16:12
I felt as though God was warning us to guard against teaching that is purely from dreams or prophetic utterances. Yes, believe in prophecy, but always pray for discernment and read the Bible for yourself. Also ask, what is the commonly held view about the said matter? Which side do you agree with and why?
Dear Lord Jesus,
We wait for your return,
whenever, wherever,
Keep us in the Way,
Do not let fear entrap us,
But with hopeful joy,
We wait for your return.
Amen.