Are there any examples of premillennialism being suppressed before the Reformation?

Question

(Follow-up to my recent question about the reappearance of premillennialism in modern times.)

It is commonly claimed that the reason premillennialism disappeared following the time of Augustine was due to some kind of suppression by the institutions of the Church (e.g. "Chiliasm was suppressed by the dominant Catholic Church", "By the beginning of the fourth century millennial teaching was, for the most part, extinguished throughout the Roman empire. For the next 1500 years pre-millennialism was rejected as heresy.", "Both the theological and political atmosphere was against it"). As the answers to my other question demonstrate, the Catholic Church did not officially take a position on millenarianism until the 20th century.

My question is about the basis for these claims of suppression of premillennialism by the Roman Church. Between the time of Augustine and the Reformation, are there any examples of premillennialists being excluded from the Church on that basis, or of influential theologians calling premillennialism heretical?

To be clear about the scope I'm asking about, the time period begins with the publication of City of God in 426 and ends with the start of the Reformation in 1517. I am also not asking about people who held premillennialist views but were considered heretical for other reasons. If there are no such examples, a reputable citation for that claim would be appreciated.

Answer 1

There was some information about this in the encyclopedia cited below, but not a lot. Bear in mind that the term 'chiliasm' refers to belief in a one-thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth, commonly called the Millennium. I take the article quoted to refer to Christians who believed in a literal earthly rule of Christ at his return, but premillennialism as we understand it today (strictly speaking) refers to people believing in a ‘rapture’ of Christians into heaven before a time of great tribulation precedes this millennial rule of Christ. The article does not mention this, so I’m not confident about this answer being altogether relevant. However, here is part of the article that struck me as seeming to pertain to this question:

"Chiliasm gained renewed currency in Europe during the Middle Ages, when it was incorporated in many heretical doctrines (such as those taught by the Apostolici) that expressed the antifeudal attitudes of the peasant and plebeian masses. The chiliasts usually preached a gospel of passive social protest. It was only at times of wide-ranging popular movements that chiliasm took on a more active character, advocating the establishment of the “kingdom of God” on earth by force of arms—a course favored, for example, by the Taborites, the Anabaptists of the Münster Commune, and the Fifth Monarchy Men during the English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century.” The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979), B. IA. RAMM, 2010 The Gale Group, Inc.

Some may not view this as a reputable source, however. I cannot vouch for it being impartial or factual. There seems to be a lot of political thinking involved, which may not really reflect the premillennialism during the time period you ask about. It’s just the only bit of information relating to your question that I have come across.