In 2007, John MacArthur dropped a bombshell at the Shepherd’s Conference with his lecture, “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist” (listen here). He claimed that if you’re an amillennialist, you’re basically saying, “The kingdom as identified in the Old Testament and promised to Israel will not happen!”
To a lot of Reformed people, this sounded like a cheap straw man—an oversimplification that didn’t hold water. Kim Riddlebarger, a thoughtful Reformed amillennial pastor, pegged it as a “pyrrhic victory over a phantom foe,” and I’d suggest it weakened MacArthur’s credibility among those in the Reformed community who value Scripture’s complete narrative.
I’ve walked this road myself. As a student at The Master’s University, I started with an amillennial bent but genuinely wanted premillennial dispensationalism to win me over. For two years, I grappled with its inconsistencies, pressing hard to embrace its best arguments. They never clicked. Instead, that struggle deepened my conviction that amillennialism holds up as the most biblically consistent and Christ-exalting view of eschatology.
RC Sproul called Amillennialism the historic majority view in Reformed theology.
Why should Christians—especially those in the Reformed camp—embrace amillennialism over premillennialism or dispensationalism? Here are five reasons that won me over.
A Quick Note on Reformed Hermeneutics
This debate often hinges on how we read Scripture.
Reformed hermeneutics looks at genre, grammar, history, and redemptive context—but above all, it lets Scripture interpret Scripture. Clear passages guide the tricky ones, and the New Testament reveals that the Old Testament points to Christ (Luke 24:27).
That Christ-centered lens sold me on amillennialism.
Reason 1: The Old Testament’s Silence on a Millennium
First off, the Old Testament doesn’t breathe a word about a 1000-year kingdom. Nothing. The phrase “thousand years”—or “chiliasm”—shows up just once in the New Testament, in Revelation 20:1–6. You’d expect a hint if a literal millennium was the plan. It doesn’t. Instead, you get Daniel’s vision: “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). That’s eternal, not a temporary Jewish golden age.
Louis Berkhof wrote: “The literal interpretation of [Rev. 20:1-6] as given by the Premillenarians, leads to a view that finds no support elsewhere in Scripture, but is even contradicted by the rest of the New Testament. 1
Reason 2: The Gospels Proclaim a Present Kingdom
Second, the gospels teach amillennialism. Jesus defines the kingdom, not as the disciples—or Pharisees—expected after three years with Him, dreaming of a political Messiah to oust Rome. They asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus had earlier told the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed…for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20–21).
To Pilate Jesus said: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). MacArthur provocatively claimed, “If this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the Messiah!” but that misses the mark—this spiritual reign proves He is the promised King.
Herman Bavinck nailed it: “Jesus nowhere predicts a glorious future on earth before the end of the world.”2
Reason 3: The Apostles Point Us Heavenward
The apostles lift our eyes off the Canaan dust. Paul says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above… Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1–2). Hebrews notes Abraham “was looking forward to the city…whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10)—it was ultimately eternity, not Canaan, that Abraham sought.
Peter adds, “We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
Dispensationalists see a Jewish millennial kingdom that someday ends in revolt,3 but the New Testament calls us pilgrims—not settlers. We look forward to the new heavens and the new earth.
Reason 4: Revelation Unveils a Spiritual Millennium
The book of Revelation itself does not teach that there will be a literal earthly Jewish kingdom. Revelation 20:1–6—the only “thousand years” mentioned—isn’t an earthly reign. It’s loaded with symbols; “thousand” represents completeness, not a countdown (see Job 19:3 or Ecclesiastes 7:19).
Revelation 20:1–6 raises three questions worth pressing. First, who is in the millennium? John sees “the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 20:4) — departed saints, not living rulers in a restored Israel. There is no earthly reign here that dispensationalists can legitimately claim.
Second, where is the millennium taking place? In heaven, now. Christ rules through His Word and Spirit here, and with His saints there (Revelation 6:9; 20:4). He told the thief on the cross, “Truly… today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul said, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23). Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Berkhof agrees: “The thousand years are symbolical…the entire period of the New Testament dispensation.” 4
Third, where is Satan? Bound (Revelation 20:1–3) — no longer deceiving the nations as he did before Christ. That is precisely what fuels the Great Commission: “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Satan can still harm and disrupt, but he cannot stop the spread of the gospel. His leash is short until the end.
The millennium mentioned in this passage isn’t a future carnal utopia—it’s the church age, and Christ is reigning now.
Reason 5: Creeds and Confessions Affirm Amillennialism
Amillennialism isn’t a recent idea—it’s a thread woven through historic Christianity, from Paul, to Augustine, to the Reformers. The Apostles’ Creed affirms Christ “shall come to judge the living and the dead”—there is no pause for an earthly reign.
The Nicene Creed echoes, “his kingdom will have no end.”
The Second Helvetic Confession (Chapter 11) states firmly: “We condemn the Jewish dreams, that before the day of judgment there shall be a golden age in the earth, and that the godly shall possess the kingdoms of the world, their wicked enemies being trodden under foot.”
Calvin called premillennialism “too puerile to need or deserve refutation” and a “great…insult…to Christ and his kingdom.”5 (Institutes 3.25.5). Herman Bavinck adds: “Chiliasm is not of Christian but of Jewish and Persian origin.”6 MacArthur’s quip that Calvin would join the premillennial movement doesn’t hold up — Calvin would stand with the creeds.
Engaging MacArthur’s Concerns
MacArthur argues passionately that amillennialism undercuts Israel’s promises, dubbing it “replacement theology.” Yet Berkhof unites it: “There is but one church—the New Testament Church, the continuation of the Old Testament people of God.”7 Israel isn’t replaced but wonderfully fulfilled and expanded in Christ.
Every promise to the ancient patriarchs finds its “Yes” in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20), broadening true Israel to all nations. The dividing wall is shattered (Ephesians 2:14), uniting believers—Jew and Gentile—into God’s one covenant family, fulfilling Israel’s calling to bless the earth.
Final Thoughts: Christ’s Reign, Now and Forever
I get dispensationalism’s pull among evangelicals—as a new Christian, I was surrounded by believers who cherished it. Yet, I’ve come to see it sidesteps New Testament clarity, puts the dividing wall back up between Jew and Gentile, and dims Christ’s present reign. Amillennialism, instead, reflects Jesus’ words that the kingdom is here (Luke 17:21), Paul’s call heavenward (Colossians 3:2), and Revelation’s vision of Him ruling now (Revelation 20:4).
The Nicene Creed settles it plainly: “his kingdom will have no end.” The creeds and confessions have held that line for two thousand years.
Take amillennialism to Scripture and let it stand or fall there. Rest in that — He “has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6).
Footnotes
- Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 715.
↩︎ - Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics 4.673.
↩︎ - John Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 298.
↩︎ - Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 715.
↩︎ - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.25.5.
↩︎ - Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4.665.
↩︎ - Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 655.
↩︎
