The Dark Side of the Millennium

Dr. Lewis proposes that the evil inherent in the conditions of Revelation 20:1-10 precludes its identity with the glorious kingdom of Christ which is to come. Through comparative studies in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles, he demonstrates that the millennial scene best fits into this present age, spanning the time between the first and second comings. Labeling his view ""historical millennialism,"" the author offers a fresh form of the older, orthodox positions of amillennialism. Lewis's view, however, remains distinctive in that he does not spiritualize away the basic features belonging to the thousand years of Revelation 20. Though written in 1980, this volume continues to fill a present lack among evangelicals for materials to judge fairly the amillennial perspective long held by orthodox churches and great theologians of the past, including Augustine. While interpreters of Revelation 20 agree that the millennium will mix good and evil, saint and sinners, Lewis stands among just a few who seriously explore the implications of this fact. This new edition also includes an interview with the author that covers his broader dialogue with dispensationalism. ""Arthur Lewis provocatively challenges the interpretation that Revelation 20:1-10 (the dark side of the millennium) refers to the future; he advocates with convincing biblical support that it refers to the present reign of the kingdom of God, thus redefining the millennium perspective."" --Clarence Bass, author of Backgrounds to Dispensationalism Arthur H. Lewis (1923-2004), minister and Baptist missionary in Portugal, was professor of Old Testament at Bethel University in St. Paul. Having graduated from Gordon Divinity School and Harvard Graduate School, he received a PhD from Brandeis University. He was also a member of the New International Bible translation team.