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[h=1]PART 1 Amillennial theology is in error - (no literal thousand year reign)[/h]By Don Koenig
The prevalent theology of the Church for over fifteen centuries is that the Church is in the millennium of God. Those that hold this position say the thousand-year kingdom in the book of Revelation is only figurative and it really does not mean a thousand-years but it means a undisclosed period of time. The teaching generally is that the Christian Church is true Israel or has replaced Israel at Pentecost and that we have been in the kingdom on earth since Pentecost. Most who hold this view say all kingdom passages in the Old and New Testament dealing with unfulfilled prophecy must be spiritualized or allegorized to pertain to the Church. This position that there is no literal thousand-year reign is called amillennialism and it is held by most of the main-line liberal Protestant denominations and the Catholics.
The early fathers of the first two centuries of the Church were premillennial, meaning that they thought that Jesus would come back before the promised earthly kingdom actually started. They included Pothinus, Justin Martyr, Melito, Hegesippus, Tatian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Apollinaria.
Amillennial theology actually began with a school of theology at Alexandria, Egypt in the beginning of the third century which proposed that scripture should be allegorized. Most of this theology was later rejected as heretical, but the allegorization of prophecy was retained by Augustine and incorporated into Catholic doctrine. The later reformed theology of the Protestants retained this teaching.
Augustine taught that the Church was living in the millennial period. For that reason many in the Church fully expected the second coming around 1000 AD. When this did not occur the assumption was made that the thousand-year period mentioned in Revelation was also figurative and it just meant an undisclosed period of time. This doctrine is still taught in most of Christianity today.
[h=2]Dispensational premillennial theology - (the Kingdom on earth promised is still future)[/h]In the 1830's Darby taught that there should be a distinction between Israel and the Church and that the prophetic scriptures to physical Israel will be literally fulfilled. This position says that those on earth are still before the thousand-year period taught in Revelation (premillennial). This view teaches that after Jesus' second coming He will literally rule on the earth for a thousand-years. In this view there is a difference between the promises of the Old Testament to the descendants of natural Israel and those who have already been born into the new covenant by faith. Dispensational theology states that God has dealt with people differently in different dispensations of time (different rules for living), thus, the theology is called Dispensationalism.
Those in this theology believe that when the times of the grafting in of the Gentiles are fulfilled, God will once again deal with the descendants of natural Israel to fulfill the literal promises in scripture directed to them. The new covenant actually was given to natural Israel without conditions but since they rejected their King they could not come into their kingdom. This gave time for the Gentiles to be grafted into the new covenant promise by God's grace. Someday the descendants of Israel will acknowledge their offense and receive their King and the new covenant promises. At that time all scripture promised to the natural descendants of Israel will be literally fulfilled.
This theology has become popular with Bible literalists and had been the view held by many evangelical denominations. It used to be the predominant view of Baptists, Pentecostals and independent Bible churches. Popular books such as the "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsey and the "Left Behind" series of novels by Lahaye and Jenkins have done much to teach the common Christian this view. However, in the last decades there has been a big shift in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches to post-millennial teaching that proclaims the church will defeat all enemies and establish a Christian era before Jesus returns (Dominionism). Never mind, that no such concept is taught in scripture. Never-the-less, this teaching has become popular because it appeals to the flesh. For this article we will focus on just amillennial and dispensational teaching.
Dispensationalism is sometimes misunderstood. Dispensationalism is not different ways to find salvation; it is different rules for living in each dispensation for those who are saved on the basis of their faith in God.
The early fathers of the first two centuries of the Church were premillennial, meaning that they thought that Jesus would come back before the promised earthly kingdom actually started. They included Pothinus, Justin Martyr, Melito, Hegesippus, Tatian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Apollinaria.
Amillennial theology actually began with a school of theology at Alexandria, Egypt in the beginning of the third century which proposed that scripture should be allegorized. Most of this theology was later rejected as heretical, but the allegorization of prophecy was retained by Augustine and incorporated into Catholic doctrine. The later reformed theology of the Protestants retained this teaching.
Augustine taught that the Church was living in the millennial period. For that reason many in the Church fully expected the second coming around 1000 AD. When this did not occur the assumption was made that the thousand-year period mentioned in Revelation was also figurative and it just meant an undisclosed period of time. This doctrine is still taught in most of Christianity today.
[h=2]Dispensational premillennial theology - (the Kingdom on earth promised is still future)[/h]In the 1830's Darby taught that there should be a distinction between Israel and the Church and that the prophetic scriptures to physical Israel will be literally fulfilled. This position says that those on earth are still before the thousand-year period taught in Revelation (premillennial). This view teaches that after Jesus' second coming He will literally rule on the earth for a thousand-years. In this view there is a difference between the promises of the Old Testament to the descendants of natural Israel and those who have already been born into the new covenant by faith. Dispensational theology states that God has dealt with people differently in different dispensations of time (different rules for living), thus, the theology is called Dispensationalism.
Those in this theology believe that when the times of the grafting in of the Gentiles are fulfilled, God will once again deal with the descendants of natural Israel to fulfill the literal promises in scripture directed to them. The new covenant actually was given to natural Israel without conditions but since they rejected their King they could not come into their kingdom. This gave time for the Gentiles to be grafted into the new covenant promise by God's grace. Someday the descendants of Israel will acknowledge their offense and receive their King and the new covenant promises. At that time all scripture promised to the natural descendants of Israel will be literally fulfilled.
This theology has become popular with Bible literalists and had been the view held by many evangelical denominations. It used to be the predominant view of Baptists, Pentecostals and independent Bible churches. Popular books such as the "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsey and the "Left Behind" series of novels by Lahaye and Jenkins have done much to teach the common Christian this view. However, in the last decades there has been a big shift in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches to post-millennial teaching that proclaims the church will defeat all enemies and establish a Christian era before Jesus returns (Dominionism). Never mind, that no such concept is taught in scripture. Never-the-less, this teaching has become popular because it appeals to the flesh. For this article we will focus on just amillennial and dispensational teaching.
Dispensationalism is sometimes misunderstood. Dispensationalism is not different ways to find salvation; it is different rules for living in each dispensation for those who are saved on the basis of their faith in God.
