A-millennialism

Guest blogger Mick Taylor continues his series on ‘the Last Days’


Atheism means not believing in God. A-millennialism doesn’t mean not believing in the millennium but rather that the millennium covers the entire period from the first coming of Christ to His second coming.

This was the view that Augustine of Hippo set out in his great book The City of God (early 5th century). While Pre-millennialists read Revelation and especially chapters 19 & 20 chronologically this view sees the book as a series of overlapping visions which complement each other. The 1000 years in Revelation 20:1-6 is seen as symbolic of a long period, a symbolic number in a book of symbolic numbers. The binding of Satan in Revelation 20:2 was achieved through the life and death and resurrection of Christ. So Jesus taught that He could cast out demons because He ‘had bound the strong man’ (Matt 12:29). In the ministry of the 70, He saw Satan fall like lightning (Luke 10:18) and Paul writes of the disarming of the principalities and powers through the death of Christ (Colossians 2:15). The limiting of Satan’s power, it is argued, is seen most clearly in the Gentiles pouring into the church of God.

So the A-millennial scheme looks like this:

FIRST COMING OF CHRIST - MILLENNIUM - TRIBULATION - SECOND COMING OF CHRIST – JUDGEMENT - NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH

To be continued…