Millennial Views Pt. 2: Amillennialism

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. – Revelation 20:1-3

Today we continue in our discussion regarding the various millennial views.  The above verses are interpreted differently based on whether you believe this is a literal thousand years or that it’s meant to be seen only as an extended period of time.  Additionally, do we see this millennium as a time when Christ rules bodily or spiritually?  In the last article, we discussed the premillennial view which holds that Christ’s millennial reign will happen after His return and the defeat of His enemies.  This will be a literal thousand years where Satan is bound and at the end of which he will then be released for a short time, finally defeated by Christ followed by the resurrection and judgment of both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15) and his being cast into the Lake of Fire along with all those who refused to repent and believe the gospel (Rev. 20:4-15).

What is Amillennialism?

Today, we see that the amillennial view is not this literal.  In fact, this view is perhaps the easiest of the three to understand.  In the amillennial view, the millennial reign in Revelation 20:1-3 is the Church Age; so, we’re living in the millennium now.  This is why it’s called a-millennial, the prefix a negates the rest of the word, so there is no future millennium.  It began when Christ ascended into heaven, giving His followers authority.  The binding of Satan occurred during Christ’s ministry and is seen as God’s limit of his influence over the world so that the gospel may go forth and turn people from their sins to Christ.  Matthew 12:28-29 and Luke 10:18 are often cited as justification for the binding of Satan. Christ’s reign, therefore, is not physical and bodily at this time, but rather spiritual.  He reigns through the Church, maintaining all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) as He does. 

You may point out that Christ was crucified more than a thousand years ago, and you’d be right.  According to amillennialism, the millennium is not a literal thousand years but is designed to symbolize a long period of time.  While this may seem convenient to call it symbolic, remember that all of the book of Revelation is deeply symbolic so it’s not out of the question for this to be the case.  The amillennial view maintains that there’s no way of knowing, therefore, when the Church Age, or “millennium” will end, only that it ends at the return of Christ at which point His enemies are defeated, the resurrection of the just and the unjust occurs followed the Great White Throne Judgment and Satan being cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity along with all those who rejected the gospel.  From that point, the eternal state with the new heavens, new earth, and bodily reign of Christ begins.

Critiques of Amillennialism

While this view is simple to understand, simple is not always best.  The biblical references listed above for the binding of Satan seem to be a bit of a stretch.  In Matthew 12:29, Jesus is refuting the accusation that He casts demons out by Satan’s power.  In a sense, Satan has been “bound,” since even he is under the sovereignty of God and can do nothing more than what God allows for him to do.  However, this is a big jump to his being in a bottomless pit.  A bound person may be able to persuade someone to do something, someone in a bottomless pit is cut off from all contact.  It seems a bridge too far to treat Jesus’ words here as applying to the millennial reign in Revelation 20. In Luke 10:18, the disciples report that demons were subject to them in His name.  Jesus’ response should be taken as an image of their fall from heaven, not so much their binding in the bottomless pit.  So, while these passages could be applied in this way, it doesn’t seem to be the best interpretation.

Further, amillennialists will argue that believers in glorified bodies alongside unbelievers in mortal bodies do not make sense. But as stated in the article for premillennialism, this is exactly what happened after Jesus was raised from the dead.  It wasn’t just Him, either. Matthew 27:52, “The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”  It is not unreasonable to think this is possible. 

Summary

Amillennialism is the view of Revelation 20 which says that the millennium referenced is not a future, literal thousand year reign, but is the Church Age that is in progress right now, where the influence of Satan is reduced so the kingdom of God may grow through gospel evangelism.  It will end when Christ returns and will be followed by the resurrection of believer and unbeliever alike, the judgment of the unbeliever and they’re subsequently being cast into the Lake of Fire along with Satan for eternity. These events will all happen in rapid succession, followed by the eternal state of Christ’s reign in the new heavens and new earth over His people.

Regardless of whether you agree with this millennial view, what is important is that it maintains a bodily, visible return of Christ and His bodily, eternal rule.  Any view that denies a physical, visible return of Christ or His bodily, eternal reign is to be rejected as unbiblical.  Christ said He would do both, and we need to believe that.  It is our eternal hope.

Soli Deo Gloria