What is Amillennialism ?

What is Amillennialism ?

The theological position which maintains there will be no literal reign of Christ upon this earth and that Christ's kingdom spoken of in the Scriptures is a spiritual reality, not a physical one. There are minor variations among its adherents, however there are certain basic components generally accepted among those who hold this view.

The first major component and the foundation on which this view rests is the allegorical, symbolic, or spiritual interpretation of scripture. This type of interpretation is especially applied in the case of Scriptures that have prophetic content. This principle can best be observed in the fact that most of the adherents of this view believe that the book of Revelation is an allegorical story of the persecution of the first century Christians and representative of the struggle of good versus evil in general. Most adherents also believe that the prophecies of Matthew 24 and Luke 17 are allegorical representations of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Persons in history holding to this approach to Scripture, after ruling out a literal approach, have taken the liberty to interpret any given Bible passage according to his or her own fancy.

The most popular proponent of this type of Biblical interpretation in history was the well known church leader from Alexandria, Augustine. Augustine taught, for example, that the millennial promises in Scripture ( Isa. 11, Isa. 65, Zech. 14, & Rev. 20 ) are already realized in the existence of the Church. He believed that since the Church was the fulfillment of the Kingdom promises that there would be no literal fulfillment of the promises made to Israel. He also taught that Satan was bound during the earthly ministry of Jesus (Lk. 10:18), and that the first resurrection of Revelation 20 verse 5 is the new birth of the believer.

Perhaps of all the components of amillennialism, the one that has proven to be the most disastrous in history is anti-Semitism. In the amillennial view, the Church has taken Israel's place in receiving the Kingdom promises and Israel is thought of as a discarded people in the mind and heart of God as a result. This thinking has served in history as a theological fuel to persecute the ethnic Jews who are to inherit certain unconditional promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

History has proven that Satan is not bound. Scripture itself says that Satan is roaming about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Also, today there exists a physical nation of Israel that is now in a position to receive the unconditional promises made to the ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as called for in Romans, chapter 11. These truths, along with the fact that history has never produced any conditions that would come close to fulfilling the Kingdom promises called for in Scripture, show amillennialism to be an obvious failure. In spite of its obvious failure, amillennialism is still a thriving theological position today.

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