Understanding Amillennialism is crucial because it directly impacts how we interpret God’s promises to Israel and the Church. This false theology denies a literal future for Israel, claiming that the Church has replaced God’s chosen people. But if God could break His covenant with Israel, what assurance do we have of His promises to us? Knowing the truth helps us trust in God’s faithfulness and rightly divide His Word, standing firm against doctrines that distort His plan for the ages.

Amillennialism is a man-made theology that undermines God’s clear promises in Scripture. It arose from a failure to reconcile how God could still remain faithful to Israel after they rejected their Messiah and, along with the Romans, crucified the Prince of Peace. Instead of trusting in God’s ability to fulfill His covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, some early Church fathers devised a theological system that conveniently transferred Israel’s promises to the Church.

This false doctrine—often referred to as replacement theology—teaches that God has permanently cast aside Israel and that the Church is now the new Israel. But this is not what Scripture teaches. In fact, God’s Word is clear:

• God’s covenant with Israel is eternal.
  • “Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night… If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

• Paul explicitly refutes replacement theology.
  • “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25)
  • “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28-29)

If God’s promises to Israel were merely symbolic or transferred to the Church, then He would be a liar. But God does not break His covenants (Numbers 23:19). The rejection of a literal future for Israel was not based on faith in God’s Word but on human reasoning.

Why Was Amillennialism So Convenient?

• It required no faith in God’s ability to restore Israel as He promised.
• It made no effort to wrestle with prophecies that clearly state Israel’s future restoration.
• It aligned with the growing anti-Jewish sentiment in parts of the early Church.
• It placed Gentiles at the center of God’s plan, rather than acknowledging that we, as Gentiles, are partakers of the promises made to Israel—not the original recipients. The covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David were given to Israel alone. As Paul explains in Romans 11:16-18, Israel is the root that supports the wild branches, not the other way around. The Church does not replace Israel; rather, believing Gentiles are graciously grafted in, sharing in the blessings but never usurping the promises.

It was convenient for the progenitors of this false teaching because they saw that the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, and the Jews were out of their land, scattered into every nation on the planet. The Church fathers looked at Israel’s diaspora as an opportunity to take what God promised Israel as their own. Horrors! Again, these so-called Church fathers lacked faith—they simply could not believe that God would keep the promises He made to His chosen people. This comes down to coveting, pure and simple. They saw what belonged to Israel, desired it for themselves, and instead of trusting in God’s Word, they rewrote it to fit their own reasoning.

Ammillennialist have “spiritualized” Israel’s promises, dismissing them as allegorical while eagerly claiming all the blessings for themselves. But God is not done with Israel! The return of the Jewish people to their land and the ongoing conflicts surrounding Jerusalem confirm that God’s prophetic timeline is still unfolding exactly as He declared.

Final Thoughts

Amillennialism may be convenient, but it is not biblical. The promises God made to Israel remain intact, and His faithfulness to Israel is proof of His faithfulness to all who trust in Him. We must reject any theology that distorts God’s Word and hold fast to the truth that what He has spoken, He will surely fulfill.

Are you trusting in God’s promises, even when they seem inconvenient?