Amillennialism - Bad Theology? Part II

I had one of those "eureka" moments today. It just dawned on me a central issue, perhaps the central issue, in the debate between (dispensational) premillennialism and amillennialism is - how do you interpret the Old Testament? Do you interpret it as a separate entity, without regard to the fuller, more complete revelation presented in the New Testament? This is essentially what dispensationalism does. Or, do you interpret in light of the more complete NT revelation? This is what covenantalism does. If you interpret the OT in a wooden, literal way, you must accept that the temple will be literally rebuilt, the priesthood will be reinstituted, and animal sacrifices will again be offered. But weren't all these things fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ? An interesting twist - the New Scofield Study Bible (1967) suggests that Ezekiel's prophecy of the reinstitution of the sacrificial system "is not to be taken literally....but is rather to be regarded as a presentation of the worship of the redeemed in Israel...using the terms with which the Jews were familiar in Ezekiel's day" (p 888). I don't know who authored that note, but kudos to him! Houkema asks the obvious question "If the sacrifices are not to be taken literally, why should we take the temple literally?" (The Bible and the Future, p 204). Why indeed!

I'm listening to MacArthur's presentation on amil again. It's astonishing. He says most forcefully that amillennialism and Arminianism naturally go together. I have never heard of those two concepts going together. I have never heard of an amillennialist being an Arminian; indeed, virtually every Arminian I've ever met was dispensational and vice-versa. Take a look at this. It seems to bear me out. In addition, John Gerstner comes to the exact opposite conclusion as Mac in his "Wrongly dividing the Word of Truth." I have the book, and although I agree with Gerstner, I found his tone to be unnecessarily harsh and condescending. I'd suggest anyone interested examine the arguments of both of these men of God, and reach your own conclusion.