The Millennium doctrine started in an
ungodly heretic by the name of Cerinthus, who lived in the
first century. It is true that the Jews generally believed
that the Messiah would establish a literal or earthly kingdom.
And even some of them believed that Messiah's reign would last
a thousand years. We here give an extract from Neander's
History of Christian Dogmas, Vol. 1, Page 248.
"The idea of a Millennial reign
proceeded from Judaism; for among the Jews the representation
was current that the Messiah would reign a thousand years upon
earth. . . . Such products of Jewish imagination passed over
into Christianity."
As before stated, Cerinthus was the
first to attempt to introduce this doctrine under
Christianity. Let history speak. In EusebiusÕs Ecclesiastical
History, Book III, Chapter 28, is preserved a fragment from
the writings of Caius, who lived about the close of the second
century, which gives us the following account of Cerinthus's
heresy: "But Cerinthus, too, through revelations written,
as he would have us believe, by a great apostle, brings before
us marvelous things, which he pretends were shown him by
angels; alleging that after the resurrection the kingdom of
Christ is to be on earth, and that the flesh dwelling in
Jerusalem is again to be subject to desires and pleasures. And
being an enemy to the scriptures of God, wishing to deceive
men, he says that there is to be space of a thousand years for
marriage festivities." "One of the doctrines he
taught was, that Christ would have an earthly kingdom."
This is the true origin of the Millennium theory. The reader
will observe how lightly our author speaks of Cerinthus's idea
of the kingdom of Christ being set up on earth after the
resurrection. He says this doctrine was "something which
he [Cerinthus] pretends was shown to him by angels."
Caius must therefore have believed the orthodox teachings of
the scriptures, that Christ's kingdom was set up at his first
coming. Observe also that Caius calls Cerinthus "an enemy
to the scriptures of God," and one who was "wishing
to deceive men." This language he uses with special
reference to the one thousand years Cerinthus claimed would be
spent in sensuality. Notice also that Cerinthus believed in an
earthly kingdom.
Cerinthus lived in the days of the
apostle John. We will now call your attention to the attitude
of the beloved apostle toward this Millennial teacher.
Irenaeus, who was born about 120 A. D. and was acquainted with
Polycarp, the disciple of John, [Eusebius's Eccl. Hist., V.
24], states that while John was at Ephesus, he entered a bath
to wash and found that Cerinthus was within, and refused to
bathe in the same bath house, but left the building, and
exhorted those with him to do the same, saying, "Let us
flee, lest the bath fall in, as long as Cerinthus, that enemy
of the truth, is within."—Eusebius's Eccl. Hist., III.
28. Let this be a rebuke to modern Millennial advocates. They
claim their doctrine is well founded in the Apocalypse of
John. But John called the founder of their theory "that
enemy of the truth."
"Cerinthus required his followers
to worship the supreme God.... He promised them a resurrection
of their bodies, which would be succeeded by exquisite
delights in the Millenary reign of Christ.... For Cerinthus
supposed that Christ would hereafter return . . . and would
reign with his followers a thousand years in
Palestine."—."— Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., Page 50.
"Cerinthus required his followers
to retain part of the Mosaical law, but to regulate their
lives by the example of Christ: and taught that after the
resurrection Christ would reign upon earth, with his faithful
disciples, a thousand years, which would be spent in the
highest sensual indulgences. This mixture of Judaism and
Oriental philosophy was calculated to make many converts, and
this sect soon became very numerous. They admitted a part of
St. Matthew's Gospel but rejected the rest, and held the
epistles of St. Paul in great abhorrence."—Gregory and
Ruter's Church History., Page 30.
"Even though the floods of the
nations and the vain superstitions of heretics should revolt
against their true faith, they are overcome, and shall be
dissolved as the foam, because Christ is the rock by which,
and on which, the church is founded. And thus it is overcome
by no traces of maddened men. Therefore they are not to be
heard who assure themselves that there is to be an earthly
reign of a thousand years; who think, that is to say, with the
heretic Cerinthus. For the kingdom of Christ is now eternal in
his saints."—From a commentary on the Apocalypse, by
Victorinus, Ante-Nicene Fathers.
Thank God for the united testimony of
history. Observe, dear reader, how closely the modern
Millennium teachers cling to the doctrines of their founder.
Cerinthus taught that "Christ will have an earthly
kingdom." "After the resurrection the kingdom of
Christ is to be on earth." "The resurrection would
be followed by exquisite delights in the Millenary reign of
Christ." " That Christ would hereafter return, and
would reign with his followers a thousand years in
Palestine." The only difference is that his modern
followers have dropped the idea of sensuality. But how did the
early church regard the doctrine of Cerinthus ? They declare
that he was "an enemy to the scriptures of God, wishing
to deceive men." They called him a "heretic."
They termed his doctrines the "vain superstitions of
heretics," and called all who believed and advocated the
same "maddened men." The apostle John called
Cerinthus "that enemy of the truth." They taught
that "they are not to be heard who assure themselves that
there is to be an earthly reign of a thousand years."
What was the doctrine of the early
church according to history? "Christ is the rock on
which, and by which the church is founded." "The
kingdom of Christ is now eternal in his saints." "It
was the universal feeling among primitive Christians that they
were living in the last period of the world's
history."—Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. VIII.. Page
534. The reason they believed this was because the New
Testament was their faith, and this is the doctrine of the New
Testament throughout. No wonder Cerinthus and his followers
"rejected part of St. Matthew's Gospel, and held the
epistles of Paul in great abhorrence." Just so do modern
Millennium teachers dwell very little in the plain Gospels and
, ;Epistles to prove their doctrines, but speculate in
prophecy and revelation.
Having seen that Cerinthus and his
false doctrine were rejected by God's church we will now come
to its next chief advocate, Papias, who lived in the first
half of the second century. Eusebius, under the heading
"The Writings of Papias," says of him: "The
same historian also gives other accounts, which he says he
adds as received by him from unwritten tradition, likewise
some strange parables of our Lord, and of his doctrine, and
some other matters rather too fabulous. In these he says there
would be a certain Millennium after the resurrection, and that
there would be a corporeal reign of Christ on this very earth;
which things he appears to have imagined, as if they were
authorized by the apostolic narrations, not understanding
correctly those matters which they propounded mystically in
their representations. For he was very limited in his
comprehension, as is evident from his discourses."—
Eusebius's Eccl. Hist., Book m, Chap. 39, Page 115. Historians
generally tell us that Papias was a very zealous advocate of
this imaginary reign of Christ on earth. "The first
distinguished opponent of this doctrine was Origen, who
attacked it with great earnestness and ingenuity, and seems,
in spite of some opposition to have thrown it into general
discredit."—Wadington's History, Page 56. "This
obscure doctrine was probably known to but very few except the
Fathers of the church, and is very sparingly mentioned by them
during the first two centuries; and there is reason to believe
that it scarcely attained much notoriety even among the
learned Christians, until it was made a matter of controversy
by Origen, and then rejected by the great majority. In fact we
find Origen himself asserting that it was confined to those of
the simpler sort."—Wadington's History, Page 56.
Next among the advocates of this
doctrine was Nepos, a bishop in Egypt. He advocated the
doctrine about A. D. 255. We here insert the following from
Eusebius's History, Book VII, Chapter 23, under the heading
"Nepos, and His Schism." "He taught that the
promises given to holy men in the scriptures should be
understood more as the Jews understood them, and supposed that
there would be a certain Millennium of sensual luxury on this
earth: thinking, therefore, that he could establish his own
opinion by the Revelation of John . . . He (Nepos) asserts
that there will be an earthly reign of Christ."
"Though Millennialism had been suppressed by the early
church, it was nevertheless from time to time revived by
heretical sects."—Dr. Schaff's Hlstory, Page 299.
"Nowhere in the discourses of Jesus is there a hint of a
limited duration of the Messianic kingdom. The apostolic
epistles are equally free from any trace of
Chiliasm."—Encyclopedia Brittanica—Articles on
Millennium.
To sum up the uniform voice of history,
the theory of a literal kingdom and reign on the earth was
gathered from Jewish fabulous "apocalypse,"
"unwritten tradition," "carnal
misapprehensions," "pretended visions,"
"suppositions," and "superstitious
imaginations." Its advocates were said to be "very
limited in their understanding," and "of the simple
sort." Millennialism had the worst heretic in the first
century for its founder, and its chief advocates thereafter
were rejected by the early church. From time to time it was
revived by "heretical sects." The vain worldly
expectation that the Messiah would establish a literal kingdom
caused the Jews to reject him, and his spiritual kingdom. They
only wanted an earthly kingdom; hence rejected and crucified
the Son of God. As soon as the church began to apostatize, and
lost the glory of his spiritual kingdom, vain ambitions
awakened the old Jewish desire for a literal kingdom. And so
it has come to pass that we have at this time of dead
formality a multitude of men teaching the same abominable lie
and false hope which crucified Christ nearly nineteen hundred
years ago; namely, a literal kingdom of Christ.
