Amillennialism and The “Future” Kingdom of God

A common misunderstanding about amillennialism—the belief that the millennial period from Revelation 20 spans from the time of Christ’s first advent to his second—is that covenant theologians regard the kingdom of God as a wholly invisible and wholly present reality with no future, earthly fulfillment. It is argued that because amillennialists have no place in their eschatological scheme for Jesus reigning upon an earthly throne in Jerusalem, they therefore by necessity have no place for an earthly, consummated kingdom. Far to the contrary, the amillennial position on the nature of God’s kingdom is that it is both a present and future reality – i.e., that it is both already-and-not-yet, inaugurated but not consummated – and that both these present and future elements of the kingdom include spiritual as well as earthly dimensions. This fulfillment, however, will not take place during a future millennial period but rather at the end of the age when Christ returns and heaven and earth are renewed. To say that because amillennialists do not affirm Christ’s earthly reign “from a throne in Jerusalem” then they cannot affirm an earthly future for God’s kingdom is to confuse a particular (premillennial) understanding of what Christ’s reign will look like with the broader category of God’s kingdom. Such an assertion would be similar to an amillennialist saying that because premillennialists do not affirm that Satan is currently bound so they cannot affirm the current, spiritual presence of God’s kingdom.

The follow excepts (follow the link below) are meant not necessarily as arguments in favor of the amillennial position but rather as a clarification of what is the amillennial position concerning the kingdom is.

Amillennialism and The “Future” Kingdom of God