Apeiro-millennialism FAQ

What is Apeiro-millennialism?

Apeiro-millennialism understands the duration of the 1,000 reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20 as being eternal. On a surface reading of the chapter, there are specific events that appear to happen after the 1,000 years are over. However, apiero-millennialism views the statements that mention these events are interpreted as adynata (plural of adynaton). That would make them comparable to our modern expression “when pigs fly, such-and-such will happen”. As such, most of these events never happen in reality.

Does the Apeiro-millennial View Make God a Liar?

God uses lots of literary devices in the Bible. The wooden literal interpretations of those often contrast sharply with what was actually meant. That does not make God a liar.

Dual-Reference FAQ

Are Biblical ‘Types’ Only Possible in the Old Testament?

It’s often claimed that there is some iron-clad rule that restricts types to only the Old Testament while the fulfillment of these types can only exist in the New Testament. However, not only is this principle not found anywhere in the Bible, but there are counterexamples that can be provided from both the Old and New Testaments that prove that no such rules exists. First and foremost would be the predictive warning that God gave to Adam in Genesis 3:17. This was obviously a type that referenced two events that each occurred well before New Testament times. It was fulfilled once in Genesis 3:16-19 and again in Genesis 5. Another would be the destruction of Israel under Solomon’s reign. Solomon’s kingdom was split in a very loop-sided way to the kings Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The nature of the relationships that the Assyrian, Median and Grecian empires had with Israel and Judah also foreshadowed the nature of the relationships they had with the Babylonian, Medo-Persian and Roman Empires respectively. Other than Rome, the prefigurements of the preceding empires and their fulfillment in subsequent empires both came to pass prior to New Testament times.

Does Allowing for ‘Types’ to Exist in the New Testament Allow for Unlimited Fulfillments?

Opponents of the idea that the New Testament prophets could have employed typology often claim that this would allow for indefinite, repeated fulfillments making it impossible to know when the final fulfillment has arrived. However, in the specific cases of some key messianic prophecies, a limit of precisely two fulfillments was evident from the text. This limit is implied through various means but the nature of the reference is specifically dual, not merely multiple.

Does Detection of Biblical ‘Types’ and Interpreting Their Fulfillment Require Revelation Through Divine Inspiration?

It is often claimed that confidently interpreting biblical typology requires divine revelation. It is argued that the only reason the apostles could cite passages like Isaiah 7:14 as being fulfilled in Jesus was on account of their divine inspiration to detect or attribute significance to such texts. However, this claim is not supported by the biblical evidence and it undermines the credibility of the New Testament authors claims.

Does a Futurist View of the Olivet Discourse Make God a Liar?

God uses lots of literary devices in the Bible. The wooden literal interpretations of those often contrast sharply with what was actually meant. That does not make God a liar. Some futurists views of the Olivet Discourse or Genesis 3:17 seem strained and do not explain these passages in ways that make it easy to see these statements as anything other than blatant lies. However, the view for which we advocate sees these passages as puns which were well-known in the time of Jesus and are based on the same types of biblical precedents that are required to understand other passages that are widely accepted to be cast in hyperbolic and highly symbolic language. If God is not a liar in the latter case, it’s hard to see why He should be considered a liar in the former.