Rightly dividing the Word is not splitting hairs
Whether you realize it or not, you hold to a system of theology. Your system of theology may be well-developed or it may be quite rudimentary. It may be consistent or it may be random. It may be orthodox or it may be not-so-orthodox. But each of us holds to a system of theology, and that system of theology is at the core of how we view reality.
Amillennialism is a system of theology which teaches that there will be no literal millennium. In this view, the millennium is a spiritual concept and there will be no future reign of Christ on earth for 1000 years. It teaches that Revelation 20:1-6 is to be taken spiritually and not literally. While amillennialists believe Christ will some day return, the millennium is deemed to be identical to the church age. Amillennialism is common within the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and many mainline Protestant denominations like the Lutherans, the Anglicans, and the Presbyterians.
Amillennialism must be contrasted with the dispensational premillennialism which is taught in most New Testament assemblies. Dispensational premillennialism teaches that Revelation 20:1-6 is to be taken literally and that Christ will one day physically reign on earth for 1000 years. We also believe that the Old Testament passages that deal with the millennium will be literally fulfilled.
So?
These are deep questions and one is tempted to ask, “Why does this matter?” If this is just one small technical detail of Bible prophecy, why should we treat the matter seriously? After all, prophecy has suffered from a great deal of speculative interpretation over the years and has divided true Christians one from another. Is it not best to leave these issues to work themselves out and to concentrate on practical Christian living? If we were only talking about one small technical detail of Bible prophecy, I would be tempted to agree. But whether we hold to amillennialism or premillennialism will have a powerful influence on how we live the Christian life because our view on the millennium reflects our attitude towards interpreting the Word of God.
The system of dispensational premillennialism taught by most New Testament assemblies rests on a foundation of literal Bible interpretation. Our system of theology is flexible enough to freely acknowledge that the Bible uses figures of speech and literary devices. We must be honest enough to freely acknowledge that we have not always interpreted the Bible as literally as we should. But despite imperfections and whatever charges are laid against us, of all the theological systems, premillennialism most consistently holds to literal Bible interpretation.
Figurative interpretations
Amillennialists will admit that their system does not rest on a foundation of literal Bible interpretation and, as such, they tend to spiritualize the Bible. Rather than a verse meaning what it plainly says, they will often go looking for some deeper, hidden meaning. The “church father” Origen was an early proponent of this method. An example is Origen’s interpretation of Matthew 24:30, “… and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Origen said this referred to Christ’s appearing to mature believers when they read the Bible. In such a system, the Bible can be made to say anything the human interpreter wishes.
It should come as no surprise then that allegory is common among amillennialists. An allegory is a story where each person, place, thing, and event is meant to reflect something else. A modern example is George Orwell’s Animal Farm in which a story about animals on a farm is really a parody of the Bolshevik Revolution and Stalin’s subsequent rule. Allegory is a legitimate literary device, but it makes for a rather poor system of interpreting the Bible. Like spiritualizing, it can be used to make the Bible say anything the reader desires. Since it has no foundation of reasonable rules for literal Bible interpretation, who can say that any particular interpretation is the meaning God intended? Allegory may have some use for personal devotion but, as a system for understanding the meaning of the Bible, it is subjective and misleading.
Literal Bible interpretation is important to a correct understanding of the Scriptures. This is why we are not talking about a small detail of Bible prophecy. And this is why it matters. When we depart from literalism, we don’t know where we will end up. It may be in some harmless state where we don’t know what the Bible means, but we still love the Lord Jesus Christ. Or it might be in some cult which uses a spiritualized explanation of the Bible to win over their converts. When we abandon literal Bible interpretation, we can end up anywhere.
Finally, for all the criticisms of “wooden literalism” and the complaints that we are missing out on the blessings of spiritualized interpretation, it must be acknowledged that dispensational premillennialists tend to hold firmly to the gospel message and to the basics of the evangelical faith. It is no mystery why modernism swept through amillennialist circles a hundred years ago. Similarly, it is no mystery why the denominations which hold to amillennialism are fighting battles today that would be quickly settled if they held to literal Bible interpretation. There are many within the amillennialist camp who are our brothers and sisters in Christ and who are fighting against modernism. But their method of interpretation is working against them. While we seek to deal graciously and lovingly with them, faithfulness to the Bible demands that we reject their system of interpretation.