Premillennial; earth desolate during millennium; saints reign in heaven
Adventism holds a distinctive premillennial view. After Christ's return, the righteous dead are raised and the living righteous are translated to heaven, where they reign with Christ for 1,000 years. During this millennium, the earth lies desolate — depopulated, with Satan bound in this wasteland — while the saints in heaven participate in a judgment that reviews the records of the lost.
At the end of the millennium, the New Jerusalem descends, the wicked dead are raised for the final judgment and the destruction of sin and sinners (the second death), and God creates the New Heaven and New Earth. This Adventist millennial scheme differs from classic pre-tribulationist dispensationalism (no secret rapture, no seven-year tribulation) and from post-millennialism and amillennialism.
Key Distinctions
- Millennium view:
- premillennial — Christ returns, righteous raised, millennium spent in heaven (not earth)
- Rapture view:
- no secret rapture; second coming is public and visible; righteous caught up at return
- Israel role:
- the church (spiritual Israel) inherits the promises; no literal national Israel restoration
Scripture References
Sources
- Seventh-day Adventist Church, 28 Fundamental Beliefs, Belief 27 (The Millennium and the End of Sin)