Page 26 - Eschatology - Student Ebook

Amillennialism
This viewpoint teaches that there will be no (a-) millennium at all in the future. Whatever kingdom
there is, is presently active. It is heaven's rule over the church. Conditions in this present age will
become increasingly worse until the second coming of Christ at the end of this church age.
This view teaches that the Church has replaced the nation of Israel in God’s eyes. Any fulfillment of
prophetic promises concerning a kingdom are being symbolically fulfilled now to the Church. Therefore,
God is finished with the nation of Israel.

This view is sometimes called “Covenant Theology” because it basically divides Biblical history into two
time periods. The first time period is that of the Old Covenant which God made with Abraham and the
nation of Israel during the time of the Old Testament. The second time period is the New Covenant,
during the New Testament, during which God has abandoned Israel and is now working through and
blessing the Church of Jesus Christ. Any symbolic fulfillment of the prophesied promises not yet fulfilled
will be symbolically fulfilled to the Church.
Amillennialism looks like this:
2 Coming
nd

† Eternity

Premillennialism
This viewpoint teaches that the second coming of Christ will occur before (pre-) the millennium and that
Jesus Christ, not the church (as in postmillennialism) will be the one to establish the kingdom. Christ will
actually reign as King over a literal kingdom here on earth. During the millennium the Jewish people will
experience the literal fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and David. Jesus Christ will reign in
fulfillment of the promise to David that a descendant of his will reign on the throne forever. The
specified land which God promised to Abraham and his descendants will be given to the nation of Israel
at the beginning of the Millennium.

According to this view, evil in the world will increase and will climax in the Tribulation Period before the
Second Coming of Christ. When He returns, He will set up His kingdom and rule for 1,000 years.
The premillennial viewpoint is a result of (1) seeing a distinction between God's program for Israel and
God's program for the church; and (2) consistently interpreting Scripture in a plain, normal, or literal
sense.

Premillennialism looks like this:

nd
2 Coming

† Millennium

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