Page 20 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

A-MILLENNIAL

The old heathen systems, they tell us, are honey-combed Premillennial
through and through by Christian influence. It looks as Premillennialism was the original faith of
if the day, may come soon, when these systems, struck Christendom. Charles Feinberg, in Premillennialism or
by vigorous blows, will fall in tremendous collapse. Amillennialism, says: “Every book that we have read and
Meantime, every ‘weapon formed against’ Christianity, studied on the question of the millennium, whether it
breaks in the hand that holds it.” That was written was favorable or unfavorable to the doctrine, or
seventy-one years ago, and we are farther from post- whether it gave full force and value to the testimony or
millennial expectations now than we were at the time it tried to dissipate its implications, admitted freely that
was written. The author of the quoted words did not the entire Church of the first three centuries was
anticipate the hold that evolution would get on the premillennial, almost to a man.” This is admitted by
religious world and the consequent rise of modernism Harnack, Mosheim, Geisler, Chillingworth, Stackhouse,
and neo-orthodoxy. Nor did he foresee the rise of those Bishop Newton, Bishop Russell, Gibbon and even by
anti-christian philosophies that brought on both world Daniel Whitby. Not only was Montanus a
wars and have now culminated in godless communism, premillennialist, but so also were Justin Martyr,
which has engulfed more than half of the inhabitants of Polycarp, Papias, and Irenaeus [church leaders in the
the world and has turned the world into an armed first centuries].
camp. In the light of the past fifty years it is not hard to Why the Early Church Was Premillennial. The early
understand why post-millennialism died. church was premillennial because early Christians
Amillennialism Has Come in the Place of Post- believed in a characteristically literal interpretation of
millennialism. There has come in the place of post- the Word of God. The departure from the truth of
millennialism a worse scourge. The time was when it premillennialism on the part of the Catholic church,
was rare to find a post-millennialist among the rank and which is so well inscribed on the pages of history, came
file of Baptist preachers, but now we have many as a result of the adoption of the allegorizing or
amillennialists among them. Thus amillennialism has spiritualizing method of interpreting the Scripture
taken over the defunct stock of post-millennialism. This already referred to. Because of Origen’s influence in this
stock has been carefully sorted. Outdated items have respect, Milner, the great English historian, said: “No
been discarded. The remaining items have been man, not altogether unsound and hypocritical, ever
renovated. The premises have been painted and made injured the Church more than Origen did.” Other so-
more attractive. New personnel have been employed. An called “church fathers” [leaders in the churches in the
ambitious sales program has been put on. The result is first centuries] took up this method. From them it
that business is much improved. passed on to scholastic theologians and was carried over
The Source of Amillennialism. It is not that by some Protestant dogmatists.
amillennialism is really new. No; in essence it is older Amillennialism and Modernism. Just as the modernist
than post-millennialism. But before the death of post- has allegorized the first chapters of Genesis, so the
millennialism it had been largely dormant for two amillennialist has allegorized Scriptures that refer to the
hundred years. Post-millennialism had so many able regathering and conversion of the Jews and the personal
advocates (such as Broadus, Carroll, Boycee, Pendleton reign of Christ on the earth. Moreover amillennialism is
and Mullins) that amillennialism was smothered. But like modernism again in that it undertakes to say in a
with the passing of post-millennialism, it was ruthless and arbitrary way what can be true and what
rejuvenated. It received a shot-in-the-arm. can’t be true. It arbitrarily decides that God is through
Amillenniallism had its source in the “philosophy and with the Jews as a nation. It decides that the sacrificial
vain deceit,” against which Paul warned the Colossians system of the Jews could not in anywise be restored
(Col 2:8). Philo, a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, set out without abrogating the new covenant. It decides that
to blend Hebrew and Greek thought. By the allegorical Christ and the glorified saints could not rule on this
method he did away everything in the Old Testament earth over men [who will be] in natural bodies. It
that was not in harmony with the philosophy of Plato. makes these decisions, not on the basis of a careful
In doing this, Philo was simply applying to the Old examination of all the Scriptures, but presumptively;
Testament the principle that the Greeks had employed and then proceeds to twist the Scripture wherever
for centuries in the interpretation of Homer. This necessary in order to make it agree. It is no wonder that
allegorizing method of interpretation of Scripture was the modernistic Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
established in the great center of learning at Alexandria. [the largest and oldest Southern Baptist seminary in
Here it was passed on to Clement of Alexandria, America] is a hotbed of amillennialism [along with all
Dionysius and Origen. It was Origen that did more than
any other to popularize this method. The Early Church

20 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity