Philip Schaff (1877)
"Though millenialism was supressed by the early church, it was nevertheless from time to time revived by heretical sects." (Schaff's History, pg. 299 )
http://www.christinyou.net/pages/millennium.html
II. Historical review of millennial thinking in Christian theology.
A. Early church (c. 100-250) - millennium not emphasized. Variety of views.
B. Early reaction to view of earthly millennium.
1. Origen (c. 185-254) attributed such thinking to heretic, Cerinthus
2. Montanist heresy (c.175) had excesses of earthly millennial views.
3. Rampant speculation to calculate end time.
C. Augustine (354-430) rejected his previous earthly millennial position and interpreted
"1000 years" of Rev. 20 as symbolic of entire period from first coming of Christ to
second coming of Christ.
1. Council of Ephesus (431) condemned earthly millennium interpretation as heretical
superstition.
2. Became orthodox view of Church for centuries.
D. Reformation (sixteenth century) - Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Anabaptists accepted symbolic
interpretation of "1000 years." Regarded Catholic Pope as Antichrist.
E. Seventeenth - nineteenth centuries - gradually revived earthly millennium view.
F. Nineteenth & twentieth centuries.
1. J.N. Darby (Plymouth Brethren), followed by D.L. Moody, C.I. Scofield, H.A. Ironside
(Dallas Theological Sem.), developed theological system of Dispensationalism
incorporating earthly millennium and pre-tribulation rapture of Church. Became a
primarily American theological phenomenon.
2. Majority of theological community (Post-millennial and Amillennial) has regarded
Dispensationalism as a modernist aberrational (disorder of the mind) interpretation.