[redleghunter]

The answer to the amillennial objection to premillennial interpretation of the Old Testament is found in the New Testament in two principal forms. First, the expectation of the Jews for literal fulfillment of the kingdom promises is confirmed. Second, this confirmation proves that the Old Testament promises are unconditional as to ultimate literal fulfillment.

Important point above as we continue this series.

[one Lord one faith one baptism]

here is a riddle:

when is a kingdom not a kingdom?

to those who reject historical Christianity, the kingdom of God does not have a King, so it can’t be a kingdom.

Christians believe Colossians 1:13 “he has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the KINGDOM of His beloved Son”

Christians believe 1 Corinthians 15:25 “ for he must REIGN until he has put all enemies under his feet “

Christians believe Hebrews 1:8 “ but of the Son he says “ Thy THRONE O God, is for ever and ever the righteous scepter is the scepter of THY KINGDOM.

Christians believe Acts 2:36 “let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him LORD and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”

there is no doubt in the very early post-apostolic period, there were many who believed in a literal 1,000 year millennial kingdom, but as Justin Martyr points out, there were also many who did not believe this, but rather accepted the amillennial truth.
as time went on and the millennialists had to defend their beliefs from harmonizing ALL THE SCRIPTURES, they came around to the amillennial truth.
to imply that St Augustine was able to single handedly to switch the faith of the Catholic Church from millennial to amillennial is laughable on it’s face. he was merely teaching what came to be the orthodox position at the time.

look at the words of the Nicene Creed, written 100 years before St Augustine, “ and his kingdom will have no end”

no one believed by this time that the kingdom would end after 1,000 years.

one more historical item, the Catholic fathers ALL believed that the Church was the spiritual Israel of God and heirs to the promise made to Abraham. these were not dispensationalists in ANY sense of the word. One need only read Justin’s dialogue with Trypho to see the Apostolic teaching that the kingdom was taken from physical Israel and given to spiritual Israel.

but I do enjoy the fact that this series may cause some to look up the Church Fathers and maybe, just maybe, will cause some to see what they did teach about a number of subjects and compare those teachings to the faith they hold today.