By: Jeremy Weaver
For the inaugural posting I thought a broad definition of Amillennialism was in order. Fortunately, I have a broad area of expertise, but my expertise in any given area is not very deep, so I am over-qualified to write this post.
What does it mean to be an Amillennialist? Very broadly, it means that a person believes that the one thousand years referred to in Revelation 20:1-8 refers to the entire age between the first and second comings of Christ.
If we take this as a definition, two things become apparent. First, Amillennialists do in fact believe in a ‘millennium’. Second, the term ‘Amillennial’, does not represent Amillennialists well.
You see, all Christians are ‘Millennials’ of some sort. We have to be. The Millennium is taught in Scripture. So the prefix on ‘millennial’ should reflect what a particular person believes about the Millennium. When we add the prefix ‘pre’ to ‘Millennial’, we are saying that Christ returns before the Millennium. When we add the prefix ‘post’ to ‘Millennial’ we are saying we believe that Christ returns after the Millennium. So what happens when we add the prefix ‘a’ to ‘Millennial’? When we add the prefix ‘a’ to a word we are negating the word. So to say ‘A’millennial, is to say that we do not believe in a Millennium. However, nothing could be farther from the truth!
Amillennialists are adamant about the reality of the Millennium. In fact, the whole idea of Amillennialism is that the Millennium is a present reality! We are presently living in the Millennial reign of Christ. In light of this, some Amillennials have proposed different terms to represent what we believe the Bible to teach concerning the Millennium more accurately.
Some have proposed the term, ‘Realized Eschatology’, focusing on the fact that the first coming of the Christ was indeed an eschatological fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and that since that time we have been living in the ‘last days’. Others have proposed ‘Present Millennialism’ emphasizing the fact that Christ inaugurated His Millennial Reign by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
This emphasis on a present reality of the Millennium is not at the expense of a future fulfillment of the reign of Christ on the earth. We believe firmly in a literal second coming of Christ to bring to fulfillment His reign on the earth.
Once again, this is a very broad definition of Amillennialism. As with other views there is also a broad range of disagreement. Maybe one of the other guys will clarify and build on these points for your edification.
