Amillennialism

Amillennialism or Amillenarismus is one of the most influential fundamental conceptions of Christian eschatology - in addition to the premillenarianism and the Postmillenarismus.

The term derives from the Latin from " mille " for "1000 ", " annus " for " year " and the prefix "a" as a negation. He refers to the section in (Rev 20:1-6 NIV ) where a period of 1000 years (Millennium ) is mentioned, in which Satan bound and Christ reigns with his priests. In Amillennialism also preterist views are represented. Amillenalisten do not believe in a literal thousand-year earthly reign of peace of Christ after His second coming. As a replacement for the term " Amillennalismus " was written by Jay Adams, the term " realized millennialism " is proposed.

General

The Amillennialism appears in the literature also in the spelling Amillenarismus, Amillenalismus or amillennialism, written with two or n. Amillennaristen see the number 1000 symbolically and believe that the kingdom of God in the world today is present, as the victorious Christ Church ruled by his Word and Spirit. This is due to the expectation of the return of Jesus Christ, which was hoped to the year 1000. When Jesus did not return on that date, the views gained the upper hand, that the Millennium would have to be interpreted purely spiritual.

After amillennialistischer perspective, Old Testament kingdom promises to fulfill a lot more spiritual than on literal way. Thus, while it assumes a literal return of Christ, but a subsequent millennial peace reign of Christ on this earth will be rejected. The Kingdom of God and especially the Millennial Kingdom is therefore already present during the age of the municipality and the second coming of Christ brings about the eternal state. In this sense, the book of Revelation is interpreted as a description of events during the church age.

The basis for this view an allegorical interpretation of Scripture, which took place in the theology of the church father Origen began.

Anthony A. Hoekema is in an essay of amillenalistischen view, the question of whether one must necessarily emanate from the fact that the system described in (Rev. 20.1 to 4 NIV ) millennial kingdom directly for the return described in (Rev 19.1 NIV ) Christ must follow. The statement in (Rev 20:1-6 NIV ) 'll also be interpreted as a summary of events since the first coming of Christ. Hoekema relies on the revelation interpretation system of the so-called "progressive parallelism " by William Hendriksen. Chapters 20 to 22 of the Book of Revelation are to be understood as the seventh section of the whole book.

Criticism

Herman A. Hoyt criticized the fact that the attempt to put seven sections on the time between the first and second coming of Christ, it could not be carried out without significant confusion. George Eldon Ladd says that Hoekema would not observe the rules of healthy exegesis in three points. Chapter 19 and 20 apparently were linked by each other. Loraine Boettner points out that there are only minor differences between the Postmillennialism Amillennialism and if you would face the historical Prämillenalismus or dispensationalism these two points of view. Boettner says that (Rev 19:11-21 NIV ) is not the second coming of Christ constitutes, as Hoekema claims, but in " pictorial form of progress and struggle of the church after the first coming of Christ and before his second coming. "