What is amillennialism? Why does it lead to really bad theology?

[Sid]

What is amillennialism?



Answer: The name given to the belief that there will not be a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ is called amillennialism. The people who hold to this belief are called amillennialists. The prefix "a" in amillennialism means "no" or "not." Hence, amillennialism means no millennium. However, in fairness to those who are amillennialists, they do not believe that there is no millennium at all. They just don't believe in a LITERAL millennium; a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth.

They instead believe that Christ is now sitting on the throne of David and that this present Church age is the kingdom over which it was written that the Christ would reign. There is no doubt that Christ now is sitting on a throne, but just because He is sitting on a throne does not mean that it is the throne of David. There is no doubt that Christ now rules, for He is God. Yet, just because He is ruling does not mean He is ruling over the millennial kingdom.

The prophecies concerning Christ's first coming were fulfilled literally. Therefore, prophecies concerning Christ's second coming should also be expected to be fulfilled literally. For these reasons, an allegorical interpretation of unfulfilled prophecy should be rejected and a literal or normal interpretation of unfulfilled prophecy should be adopted.


What is amillennialism?

[Sid]

Here is the link for the previous post: What is amillennialism?



Amillennialism is a diving board into a cesspool of confusion, distortion and just plain deception.




There are three main pillars of amillennial teaching:

• Spiritualizing Scripture [draining the prophetic element and power out of the Scriptures]

• Replacement theology [anti-Semitism],

• A General Resurrection [no Rapture].

They overlap and each lead to really bad theology, but all begin with an amillennial understand of endtimes prophesy.


. . . and the pew-warmers don't have a clue as to the confused theology they are being taught.

[Sid]

Originally Posted by Sid

They overlap and each lead to really bad theology, but all begin with an amillennial understand of endtimes prophesy.


. . . and the pew-warmers don't have a clue as to the confused theology they are being taught.

The rejection of a literal Millennium has led to so much confused theology. . .

. . . once Bible prophesy is spiritualized away, all manner of inbred and self-serving theology of church enters in.

Church theologians began to develop the idea that the Israelites had permanently forfeited all of God's covenants by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah. This view taught that these covenants now devolved upon the church, and that the church is the only "true Israel" now and forever.

This view also taught that the Jews will never again have any future as a divinely chosen people, and that the Messiah will never establish His Messianic Kingdom on earth that was promised to them.

This was, of course, tragic for the Jews. It led to centuries of abuse and persecution under so-called Christian banners of various kinds. It was also tragic for the church because we lost the significance of our Jewish roots.

By the time of Augustine (A.D. 354-425), the famous Bishop of Hippo, Origen's system of interpretation dominated the Christian scene. It was Augustine who systematized the allegorically based teaching into a cohesive theology that would dominate the church for over 1000 years. By the 5th century, the church believed it was the sole possessor of Israel's covenant promises.

These views, commonly called "Amillennialism," were thus embraced by the Roman Catholic Church. These views also do not present the "Second Coming" in the literal terms they are presented in the Bible. Even the later Reformers failed to challenge his allegorically based, unrefined eschatology, and so these views continued to influence most of the Protestant denominations deriving from the Reformation- even to the present day.

Among the tragedies that also emerged from the amillennial view was an attendant anti-Semitism that ultimately led to the Holocaust in Europe.




Amillennialism: From Augustine to Auschwitz

[Sid]

Originally Posted by Sid

The rejection of a literal Millennium has led to so much confused theology. . .

. . . once Bible prophesy is spiritualized away, all manner of inbred and self-serving theology of church enters in.

Amillennialists say the Church is now Israel because natural Israel has been cut off but scripture says differently:

Romans 11:25 - Paul says:

".... Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the gentiles come in…"

Who is Israel here? The church? No, the church has experienced no such hardening or blindness. The believing remnant of Jews within the church? No, they are in the church because they have believed. This statement can only be understood if it is seen that the unbelieving nation of Israel is in view.

In v.26 - Paul says:

"And so (at the fullness of the Gentiles) all Israel WILL be saved, …"

Who is Israel here? The church or the believing Jewish remnant within the church? No, the members of the church whether Jew or gentile are saved ALREADY. This verse points to an Israel who will only be saved in the future. Who are they? The nation of Israel currently (at the time of Paul's writing as well as today) existing in a state of unbelief towards the gospel.



Is the Church now Israel

[Sid]

Originally Posted by Sid

Amillennialism is a diving board into a cesspool of confusion, distortion and just plain deception.

Since Bible prophesy requires study of much of the Bible [notably Daniel, Isaiah and the minor prophets] that doesn't get covered in homilies aimed at the sixth grade level, most pew Catholics don't have a clue.

Any understanding that Catholics get on topics like the Gog Magog War, the Great Tribulation and the Rapture most probably come from shows on cable television.

That they don't fathom anything about amillennialism, replacement theology or preterism, OR THAT THEIR CHURCH's THEOLOGY is ateup with these confused teachings only proves the confused state of the typical pew Catholic.

Amillennialism is the key to much BAD THEOLOGY.

Amillennialism has been the predominant eschatology in Christendom since the fourth century A.D., but I simply cannot understand how anyone can profess to believe the Bible and buy in on this dismal and misanthropic scheme.

Unfortunately, there are many Premillennialists that pay lip-service to the fact of the future millennial reign of Christ, but deny that the resurrected saints have any material part in it: thus, making their brand of Pre-Millennialism into defacto Amillennialism for the resurrected saints.

They teach that we shall indeed be ruling and reigning with Christ at that time, but not as active participants and recipients of the benefits of this paradise: we shall be like angels, they say, neither marrying nor having children, nor finding any form of material fulfillment in the renewed earth.

Amillennialism, which began formally with the heretic Origen, has no Scriptural foundation. Amillennialism contradicts the plain language of prophetic Scripture in so many places that it can hardly be conceived how anyone who adheres to this heresy could ever be called a "Bible believer".



Amillennialism: the most pervasive heresy in history

[Sid]

Amillennialism

This view is that there is no (a-) 1000 year (millennium) reign of Christ on earth. Amillennialists take the reference to a 1000 years in Revelation 20:3-4 as being symbolic for a complete period of time. Christ will return at some point and will judge humanity and the eternal state will begin. This position spiritualizes the prophecies of the Old and New Testament and sees them being fulfilled spiritually in the time between Christ's first coming and His second coming.


There [are] dangers of using this method of interpretation (as admitted by amillenarians):

• The fist is when you spiritualize Scriptures you are interpreting Scripture by a method which would be utterly destructive to Christian doctrine.

• The second danger is they do no follow the same method in relation to prophecy in general, but only where it is necessary to deny premillennialism.

• The third problem is they justify the spiritualizing method as a means of eliminating problems of fulfillment of prophecy (its born of necessity rather than a natural product of exegesis).

• The forth problem is they do not hesitate to use spiritualization in areas other than prophecy if it is necessary to sustain their doctrine.

• The fifth problem with the amillennial method of interpretation is it has been proved by history that the principle of spiritualization spread easily into all basic areas of theological truth (Christ's birth to resurrection, and coming again can be spiritualized).

• The sixth problem is that the amillennial method does not provide a solid basis for consistent system of theology.

• And finally, amillennialism has not arisen historically from a study of prophetic Scripture, but rather through its neglect.

Doctrine of Eschatology

[Sid]

Amillennialism is something that Martin Luther didn't get around to thinking though, so it is one of the bad habits that Lutherans inherited from the Roman Catholic Church. This lady's experience with trying to integrate amillennialism with Bible prophesy are typical:

Ten years ago, I didn't know what "Amillennialism" even meant. I had read the Bible, cover to cover, several times and it seemed pretty clear to me (more or less) what it said about end times.

Over time, I understood that, like most mainline churches, the Lutheran view of end times was amillennial. Not all amillennial churches are in agreement over the details, but this is basically the view my synod holds:

• There isn't a future "millennium." We've been IN the "millennium" since Jesus' first coming.

• There is no "Tribulation." Things will continue to get worse and may intensify briefly before the end of the world.

• Satan was bound at the cross. He will be loosed for a brief period before the end of the world. During that time, it will SEEM as though the Gospel is not having an effect and evil will be rampant. Some believe we are in that period now.

• Israel as a nation has served its purpose. The physical land of Israel has no more significance to God than any other country. We, the church, are now the "Israel" that God cares about.

• The prophecies of antichrist have been fully fulfilled in the Papacy.

• A remnant of the Jews will continue to be saved, but there will never be a time when ALL the Jews will be saved.

• Jesus returns unexpectedly, with no warning, and the world ends. There is no prophecy left to be fulfilled before that happens.

• The Book of Revelation includes the end of the world, but is primarily the story of the time between Jesus' first and second comings in symbolic language.

• The "rapture" is when believers are caught up at Jesus' return, but the idea of a pretribulation rapture (such as portrayed in the Left Behind series) is heresy.

At first, I accepted that all these things were true. The fault was with me. I read every Lutheran thing I could get my hands on. I read books and commentaries. I read material on the Internet. I even read Reformed Amillennial books and articles. I talked to pastors from other churches. I really tried to leave no stone unturned in my attempt to understand and adopt the Lutheran viewpoint.

I honestly started to think there was something seriously wrong with me spiritually if I could read all these things and STILL not get it. My friends will attest that I was going through a very dark period. I want to say again, that it was NOT ABOUT END TIMES. It was about God and His Word - and whether I could trust what He had to say or not. Of course, when I try to explain it, I wind up talking about end times, because that is where it comes out.

Looking back, it seems as though God (or Satan, some would argue) was directing my path. Books I came across by chance wound up affecting my thinking. People would come into my life at just the right time. Unrelated events opened other doors. And, time and time again, I had to deal with people that were taking the Bible symbolically.




Questioning Amillennialism: One Lutheran Woman's Search For Truth

Any questions about amillennialism? questioningamillennialism2@yahoo.com

[Sid]

Amillenialism is a belief largely characterized by the supposition that the literal return of the Messiah and the 1000 year reign is not true, but there is instead a "messianic age" with the rule of the church body politic, or in more extreme cases, no millenial reign of Christ at all.

Amillenialism lends itself to a diminishing of the Judaic birthright as firstborn of the chosen of God. There is inherent and implicit replacement doctrines as the church "replaces" Israel, and in essence replaces even Christ himself on earth, becoming a self-ordained Christ -in -Proxy.

Because the Church in this view sets itself in the stead of Christ and the Jewish nation, this position leads to the denigration of both: Christ becomes of time and history, or ethereally out in a heavenly realm; ergo no longer greatly involved with earthly happenings and the Jewish nation becomes a a nation which God has dispossessed because of their rejection of the Church's messiah and therefore their lack of inclusion in such as well as their lack of recognition of the Church's birthright.

The Church in utter amillenialism does not look forward to a literal return of Christ, but rather brings in a "church age" making proxy decisions for the Messiah. Instead of a millenium of the reign of Christ on earth, there becomes a "messianic age" with a church and its figureheads as ushering in a utopian age, reinterpreting scrip-ture in terms of church-initiated doctrine and dogma.


In amillenialism, several characteristics arise:


• the church replaces Christ as "decision maker" and

• the church replaces the Word of God as the final authority

• the church replaces the Jewish nation as the chosen people

• the church confuses the sovereignty of God's dominion with the dominion given man.



More. . .

[Sid]

Eschatology, the study of the “last things,” flows directly from ecclesiology, the doctrine of the Church. This accounts for significant differences between what Catholics and Fundamentalists believe about the end times.


While Tim Lahaye (Left Behind) and other dispensationalists teach that God has two people – an earthly people (the Jews) and a heavenly people (the Christians) – the Catholic Church asserts that God has always had just one People, or family, throughout history.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that

This ‘family of God’ is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human history, in keeping with the Father's plan. In fact, ‘already present in figure at the beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel . . . Established in this last age of the world and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time.’ (CCC 759). Therefore, the Catholic Church has always understood herself as being the New Israel (Gal. 6:16) and the new People of God (1 Pet. 2:9-10), the recipients of the New Covenant given through Christ.

The dispensationalist belief in two people of God leads to the teaching of a secret Rapture. This was developed in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby, an ex-Anglican priest who became convinced that “Christendom” – organized, institutional Christianity – was apostate, and that only a few “true believers” existed. Darby taught that many of God’s promises made to Israel, the earthly people, had not yet been fulfilled and would not be until the Church, the heavenly people, had been secretly Raptured. Subsequent dispensationalists claimed that the Millennium, the thousand years of Revelation 20, will be a literal, earthly reign of Christ on earth following the Second Coming.

This belief is commonly called millenarianism, or millennialism, and has been rejected by the Catholic Church. In 1944 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith warned against

. . . the system of mitigated Millenarianism, which teaches . . . that Christ the Lord before the final judgment, whether or not preceded by the resurrection of the many just, will come visibly to rule over this world. . . . The system of mitigated Millenarianism cannot be taught safely (see CCC 676).

While some early Church Fathers believed in an earthly, millennial reign of Christ, the idea was discarded in the fourth century. St. Augustine interpreted the reference to a “thousand years” as a metaphor for the Church age. This would become the implicitly accepted belief of the Church, even though the Catholic Church has still never made a formal statement about what the Millennium is or was – it remains open to debate.


Catholics and the Rapture

[Sid]

Amillennialists believe that antichrist has already come and Revelation 13 has already been fulfilled, they have no doctrinal reason to expect or to attempt to identify the man of sin or the antichrist, which is soon to appear.

Amillennialists teach that we are in the Millenial Kingdom now, satan is bound and the nation of Israel holds no special significance to Bible prophesy.

Once one starts spiritualizing Scripture to fit your agenda, there is no limit to the confusion one can conjure up.

Since Bible prophesy is either symbolic or history, there is no immediency and they are content in building a kingdom to suit their theology: a social gospel tailored to build a better place to be lost in.