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The Kingdom of Israel
John Shepard
April 8, 2002
Description of Amillennialism
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The purpose of this article is to describe the key points of amillennialism with particular emphasis on the contrast with premillennialism.
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The Kingdom of Israel
Summary
The amillennial viewpoint has certain ideas about how to interpret and understand end-time prophecy. These are:
- The book of Revelation is not the first book to consult in deriving an end-time view, but, rather, it is the last book we should consult. It should not be a primary source for deriving an end-time view, because it is highly symbolic. However, Premillennialists emphasize the book of Revelation.
- The Old Testament should be interpreted in light of the New Testament. Many passages in the New Testament clearly say that the Church is the "true" Israel (the New Testament writers themselves say this — read more).
- The passages in the Bible regarding the second coming of Christ are often within the context of Christ's coming to judge the world. Therefore, there is no reason we should insert a 1,000 year millennium before the second coming.
- The promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon and others were either:
(1) Already fulfilled,
(2) Conditional upon obedience, or
(3) Fulfilled in Christ and the church.This interpretation is not allegorical (as premillennialists claim) because of the flowery, figurative writing style of the Old Testament prophets. In fact, interpreting the Old Testament prophecies as strictly literal leads to ridiculous conclusions, and even premillennialists interpret these passages figuratively when it suits them (but they don't admit to this — read more).
- The New Testament was written specifically for the readers at the time and should be interpreted as directly applying to their immediate situation. But in Premillennialism much of end-time prophecy is put off to the far distant future and would have no relevance to the early readers.
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Description of Amillennialism
The key points of my view of Amillennialism:
- The 1,000 years of Revelation Chapter 20 are not a literal 1,000 year period of time but represent the Church Age from the time of Christ until His second coming.
- Christ's second coming is the final event in this world. It will be immediately followed by:
(1) The gathering of believers and unbelievers in the final (and only) resurrection.
(2) The destruction of the world by fire.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. (2 Pet 3:12)
(3) The final (great white throne) judgment.
(4) Eternity in the New Heavens and New Earth for believers.
(5) Eternity in the "Lake of Fire" for unbelievers. - Passages concerning the Great Tribulation (as understood by premillennialists) refer to:
(1) The tribulation and persecution of believers during the Church Age, or
(2) The Jewish war preceding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D., or
(3) A time of trial, persecution, and apostasy for believers immediately before Christ's second coming (read more). - The rapture is the same event as the general resurrection at the time of Christ's second coming.
- The church is the "true" Israel — read more.
- Christ is the "true" Israel. He was born as a descendant of David and perfectly fulfilled the law. Thus, the conditional promises to Israel are fulfilled in Christ (and his body, the church) since only He met the conditions.
- As of about 30 A.D., the nation of Israel no longer has a key part in God's plan of salvation and redemption for humanity. Thus the current nation of Israel (as of 1948 A.D.) is not God's chosen nation like the nation of Israel was in the Old Testament. This is not because of Israel's rejection of Christ as the Messiah but, rather, because the church of the New Covenant has superceded the nation of Israel of the Old Covenant.
- The Old Covenant nation of Israel will not be restored and will not inhabit the land in the future to fulfill God's promise to Abraham and to others. The Jewish War and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. are clear signs that God used to demonstrate to the early church that He is finished with Israel in His redemptive plan. This is because the church is the "true" Israel (the New Testament writers themselves say this — read more). The nation of Israel and the Church are two phases of the same redemptive institution of God and we should, therefore, expect worship under the New Covenant to be based on the same model of worship as the Old Covenant.
- God still considers the Jews to be His people and He still loves them and blesses them. God restored modern nation of Israel in 1948 A.D. out of His love for them and they will figure in the history of the world up until the second coming of Christ.
- The promises made to Israel were either
(1) Fulfilled prior to the coming of Christ, or
(2) Conditional upon Israel's obedience to God, or
(3) Applied to the Church "spiritually." - God promised a kingdom to Israel, and this promise was already fulfilled in Old Testament times. This kingdom comprised the land area promised to Abraham.
- Salvation has always been through faith. Thus, membership in the Old Testament nation of Israel did not guarantee salvation to anyone. Gentiles who believed in the true God and who worshipped Him in faith were also saved.
- Amillennialism is not based on an arbitrary allegorical interpretation — rather it is based on interpretations of the Old Testament by the New Testament writers themselves (more info).
- The kingdom of heaven has several aspects:
(1) Christ ruling and reigning from heaven at the right hand of God now,
(2) Christ ruling and reigning on the earth through the church, and
(3) The final glorified kingdom in the New Heavens and New Earth. - Believers who die will rule and reign with Christ in heaven, but believers who are living are already ruling and reigning with Christ through the Church. This corresponds to the 1,000 year millennium described in Revelation chapter 20, but the time period is not a literal 1,000 years — in fact, for believers who died just after Christ was resurrected, it has already been nearly 2,000 years
- There is no literal seven-year great tribulation upon the earth in which God judges the God-rejecting world. This interpretation is contrived. There is no great tribulation, no antichrist, and no false prophet in the way in which premillennialists understand them. But there is a time of trial and apostasy for the church which immediately precedes the second coming of Christ.
- I believe in the tenets of the Nicene Creed.
- The Bible is the inerrant word of God and every word is trustworthy and true.
- Jesus is deity and is the second person in the Trinity — the Son of God.
- The only way to salvation is through faith in Christ — there is no other way.
- Ezekiel 40 - 48 is a literal passage, not an extended allegory. The purpose of his vision:
Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations (Ezekiel 43:11).
But they were not faithful and did not build a temple according to these specifications, nor did they set up their society in the specified manner. However, the passage has symbolic application to the church age.
- Ezekiel 38 - 39 has both literal and figurative elements.
- Satan was already bound and will be released for a short time immediately before the second coming of Christ. But Revelation chapter 20 is figurative.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which I consider to authoritative):
The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatalogical judgment.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 676
Examples are Socialism, Communism, and other utopian visions.
The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 675
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© Copyright 2007 by John Shepard
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