Amillennialism

Amillennialism is the name given to the belief that there will not be a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ. The people who hold to this belief are called amillennialists. Amillennialism means "no millennium." This differs from the most widely accepted view called premillennialism (the view that Christ’s second coming will occur prior to his millennial kingdom and that the millennial kingdom is a literal 1,000-year reign) and from the less widely accepted view called postmillennialism (the belief that Christ will return after Christians, not Christ Himself, have established the kingdom on this earth).

However, the amillennialists do not believe that there is no millennium at all. They just don't believe in a ‘literal’ 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. Instead, they believe that Christ is now sitting on the throne of David and that this present Church age is the kingdom over which Christ reigns. Amillennialists believe that the kingdom of God was founded by Christ at the time of his sojourn on earth, is operative in history now and is destined to be revealed in its fullness in the life to come. They understand the kingdom of God to be the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to redeem God’s people from sin and from demonic powers, and finally to establish the new heavens and the new earth. The kingdom of God means nothing less than the reign of God in Christ over his entire created universe.

The strength of amillennialism is its belief of the fact that the kingdom of God is present in one sense and future in another implies that we who are the subjects of that kingdom live in a kind of tension between the “already” and the “not yet” (realized eschatology). We are already in the kingdom, and yet we look forward to the full manifestation of that kingdom; we already share its blessings, and yet we await its total victory. Because the exact time when Christ will return is not known, the church must live with a sense of urgency and total commitment to Christ, realizing that the end of history may be very near. At the same time, however, the church must continue to plan and work for a future on this present earth which may still last a long time. Meanwhile, the kingdom of God demands of us all total commitment to Christ and his cause. We must see all of life and all of reality in the light of the goal of the redemption not just of individuals but of the entire universe.

The weakness of the amillennialists is they do not believe that the kingdom of God involves the literal restoration of the throne of David. Nor do they believe that because of the unbelief of the Jews of his day Christ postponed the establishment of the kingdom to the time of his future earthly millennial reign. In order for God to keep His promises to Israel and His covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:8-16; 23:5; Psalm 89:3-4), there must be a literal, physical kingdom on this earth. To doubt this is to call into question God’s desire and/or ability to keep His promises, and this opens up a host of other theological problems. For example, if God would renege on His promises to Israel after proclaiming them to be “everlasting,” how could we be sure of anything He promises, including the promise of salvation to believers in the Lord Jesus? The only solution is to take Him at His word and understand that His promises will be literally fulfilled.

(Sources taken from “Amillennialism” by Anthony Hoekema, and “What is Amillennialism?” www.gotquestions.org)

The Universal Church & Her Spiritual Unity

The local church is a group of believers in Jesus Christ who meet in some particular location on a regular basis. The universal church is the name given to the church worldwide and is made up of all believers. In this case the idea of the church is not so much in the assembly itself but rather in those constituting it. And the church should reflect her spiritual unity to the world which emphasizes that all Christians are one by virtue of being committed to and serving the same Lord. They are joined together in the invisible church, of which Christ is the Head. The existence of separate organizations of the visible church, even in the same area, does not constitute a challenge to this unity.