What Is Amillennialism?

Understanding Revelation 20:4

Amillennialism is the eschatological view that the 'thousand years' (millennium) described in Revelation 20:1-6 is not a future literal period but a symbolic representation of the present church age — the era between Christ's first and second comings. According to this view, Christ reigns now from heaven over His kingdom, Satan is currently bound in a limited sense, and when Christ returns, He will bring the final resurrection, the last judgment, and the eternal state in a single event. There is no intervening earthly millennium.

The name

The prefix 'a-' means 'no' or 'not,' so 'amillennialism' literally means 'no millennium.' But this is somewhat misleading. Amillennialists do not deny that Revelation 20 describes a millennium — they interpret it as present and symbolic rather than future and literal. A more accurate name might be 'realized millennialism' or 'present millennialism,' since the reign of Christ is happening now.

The core interpretation

Amillennialism reads Revelation 20:1-6 as follows:

Satan's binding (20:1-3): Satan was bound at Christ's first coming — through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus said: 'Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out' (John 12:31). And: 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven' (Luke 10:18). The binding does not mean Satan is inactive but that he is restrained from deceiving the nations completely — the gospel is now going to all peoples, which would be impossible if Satan's deceptive power were unrestrained.

The thousand-year reign (20:4-6): The 'thousand years' symbolizes the complete, full period of Christ's reign from heaven — from His ascension to His return. The number 1,000 in biblical symbolism represents completeness and fullness (Psalm 50:10, 'cattle on a thousand hills'; Deuteronomy 7:9, 'keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations'). Those who 'came to life and reigned with Christ' are either (a) the souls of deceased believers reigning with Christ in heaven (the intermediate state) or (b) believers who have been spiritually raised to new life through regeneration ('the first resurrection' = spiritual rebirth, cf. Ephesians 2:5-6, Colossians 3:1).

Satan's release and defeat (20:7-10): Before Christ returns, Satan will be released for a 'short time' — a period of intensified persecution and deception at the end of history. This corresponds to the 'great tribulation' and the rise of the antichrist. But this period will be brief and will end decisively when Christ returns.

The final judgment (20:11-15): Christ's return brings the general resurrection of all the dead, the last judgment, and the separation of humanity into eternal life or eternal death. There is no interim earthly kingdom — the eternal state begins immediately.

Biblical arguments for amillennialism

1. Revelation is symbolic literature. Revelation is apocalyptic — a genre that communicates through symbols, visions, and numbers. The same book describes Jesus as a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (5:6), a woman clothed with the sun (12:1), and a beast with seven heads (13:1). Reading '1,000 years' as symbolic is consistent with how every other number in Revelation functions.

2. Only one passage mentions a thousand-year reign. Revelation 20:1-6 is the only text in the entire Bible that mentions a millennium. No Old Testament prophecy, no teaching of Jesus, no apostolic letter describes a thousand-year earthly reign. Major doctrines are typically established across multiple passages, not from a single symbolic vision.

3. The New Testament teaches a single return and judgment. Jesus said: 'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats' (Matthew 25:31-32). This is one event — one return, one gathering, one judgment — not a return followed by a thousand years followed by another judgment.

4. Paul teaches a single resurrection event. 'For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed' (1 Corinthians 15:52). Paul describes one resurrection at the last trumpet — not two resurrections separated by a millennium.

5. The 'first resurrection' is spiritual. Amillennialists interpret 'the first resurrection' (Revelation 20:5-6) as spiritual regeneration — new birth in Christ. Jesus used 'life' and 'death' in spiritual senses throughout His ministry: 'Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life' (John 5:24). If the 'first resurrection' is spiritual (new birth), the 'second resurrection' (20:12-13) is physical (bodily resurrection at the end).

6. Satan is currently restrained. The New Testament indicates that Christ's first coming limited Satan's power: 'The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work' (1 John 3:8). 'Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross' (Colossians 2:15). Satan remains active but operates on a leash — he cannot prevent the global spread of the gospel.

Historical pedigree

Amillennialism has been the dominant view in church history:

• Augustine of Hippo (354-430) articulated the amillennial interpretation in The City of God (Book 20). He identified the millennium with the church age and the 'first resurrection' with spiritual rebirth.
• The Catholic Church adopted Augustine's view, and it remained the dominant interpretation throughout the medieval period.
• Martin Luther and John Calvin were amillennialists. The Reformation confessions (Augsburg Confession, Belgic Confession, Westminster Confession) either assume or teach amillennialism.
• Modern proponents include Anthony Hoekema (The Bible and the Future), Kim Riddlebarger (A Case for Amillennialism), Sam Storms, Michael Horton, and many Reformed theologians.

Comparison with other millennial views

Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return before the millennium. He will physically reign on earth for a literal thousand years, after which the final judgment occurs. This includes both historic premillennialism (the early church fathers like Irenaeus and Justin Martyr held this) and dispensational premillennialism (popularized by John Nelson Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible, including a pre-tribulation rapture).

Postmillennialism teaches that the millennium is a future golden age within history — a period of unprecedented gospel success when Christian influence will transform the world. Christ returns after this golden age, at the end of the millennium.

Amillennialism teaches that the millennium is now, it is spiritual, and it ends with Christ's single return.

Common objections to amillennialism

1. 'It doesn't take the Bible literally.' Amillennialists respond that 'literal' is not the same as 'literalistic.' Taking Revelation literally means reading it as the genre it is — apocalyptic literature — which communicates through symbols. Reading '1,000 years' as a literal timeframe in a book full of symbolic numbers is actually a failure to read it as the author intended.

2. 'What about the Old Testament promises to Israel?' Amillennialists typically interpret OT land and kingdom promises as fulfilled in Christ and the church — the 'true Israel' (Galatians 6:16; Romans 9:6-8; Philippians 3:3). The earthly land pointed forward to the new heavens and new earth.

3. 'How can Satan be bound when there is so much evil?' The binding is specific: Satan is kept from 'deceiving the nations' (Revelation 20:3) — meaning he cannot prevent the global spread of the gospel. He remains active in other ways (1 Peter 5:8), but his ability to hold entire civilizations in total spiritual darkness has been broken since Christ.

Why it matters

Amillennialism shapes how Christians live in the present. If the millennium is now, then the kingdom of God is not a future escape plan — it is a present reality. Christians are not waiting for Christ to set up His kingdom; they are living in it. This produces neither triumphalism (the world will not be perfected before Christ returns) nor despair (Christ's reign is real despite the presence of evil). It calls believers to faithful endurance — living as kingdom citizens in a world that has not yet fully acknowledged the King, trusting that His return will make visible what is already true: He reigns.