Millenarianism

Millenarianism has been the subject of vast historical scholarship and debate, where emphasis is often placed on its political, social and cultural manifestations. Drawing onthis research, this article focuses on the theological understandings of millenarianism throughout Christian history. After a brief discussion of the scriptural origins of the idea of a thousand-year reign, an overview will be given of the most significant theological turning points in the history of millenarianism. In the third section, the twentieth-century discussion of the relationship between millenarianism and modern-day political utopianism will be addressed, and finally, in the fourth section, a summary will be given of more recent engagement with millenarian motifs in various forms of political theology.